Characters / Tatort

Character page for the German series Tatort and its local spinoffs.

---

Tatort Berlin

Till Ritter

Actor: Dominic Raacke

Tropes:

• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: He and Felix clash about once per episode, but Till also proves to be very protective of his friend and remembers their ten-year anniversary.
• Bad Liar: A very upfront guy — whenever he's trying not to be upfront, it's painfully obvious.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: The One Head Taller guy to short Felix.
• Casanova Wannabe: Sees himself as an absolute dream catch, but his success with the ladies varies.
• Chivalrous Pervert: There's hardly a pretty woman he's never laid his eyes upon, but he'll also be the first to defend them if the need arises.
• The Dandy: His cowboy boots and occasional eccentric ruffle shirts make for a distinct look.
• Defective Detective: Unable to keep a stable relationship, prone to betting or attempting risky business at the stock market. Initially, he spent most of his evenings drinking his way through the clubs of Berlin, although he tones down on that as time passes.
• Doesn't Like Guns: Just not a fan of taking the risk to wound someone fatally.
• Hidden Depths: You wouldn't think it with his easy-going attitude and hardly ever seeming to care about anyone in any greater capacity, but he is very warm with his uncle — and devastated when the latter dies.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pretty abrasive, but he's got his heart in the right spot.
• Knight in Sour Armor: A cynic who does his best to defend the law.
• Mr. Fanservice: Gets forced to do a little striptease in public in "Dagoberts Enkel", much to the glee of several female onlookers.
  Police collague: Some old lady wanted to have you charged for exhibitonism.
  Till: I also got some applause, though.
• The Murder After: In "Filmriss", he meets a woman, they click instantly and go on a date. The next morning, Till wakes up in the street, rather worse for wear, and his partner calls him to the scene of a murder — the victim is Till's date of the previous night, and he's soon desperate to prove that he wasn't the one who killed her.
• Put on a Bus: He retires from police service after "Großer schwarzer Vogel".
• Really Gets Around: Quite a number of girlfriends and dates over the years, and even more stories about them.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The temperamental, boisterous Red Oni to Felix' Blue.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Manly Man and quite a macho type who doesn't always deal well with Felix' more sensitive approach to things.
• Technical Pacifist: Doesn't like having to get violent during work and is a lousy shot, but in a hand-to-hand confrontation, he can still be pretty badass.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Initially with Felix because they really don't like each other upon their first encounter. They get over it.

Felix Stark

Actor: Boris Aljinovic

Tropes:

• Action Dad: Police inspector who faces his daily portion of dealing with criminals, and also loving father of a son, Sebastian, whom he raises alone after his divorce.
• Ambiguous Ending: We never learn whether or not he survived his last case on Tatort.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Till is getting on his nerves more often than not, but Felix will also be the first to defend him against accusations, make up with him after arguments and look after him when Till seems troubled.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Well-adjusted, kind-hearted and polite, but you shouldn't piss him off.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Some 9 inches shorter than his partner Till, and often has to take wisecracks because of it.
• Butt-Monkey: If there's a stair to fall down or a cork to fly into someone's eye, expect Felix to take the mishap.
• By-the-Book Cop: More aware of rules and guidelines than his partner.
• Caretaker Reversal: He and his son Sebastian live with Felix' elderly mother so she's taken care of.
• Deadpan Snarker: He's gotta have something on Till.
• A Friend in Need: In "Filmriss", he goes far out of his way to help and protect Till who's the main suspect in a murder case, keeping information from his superiors, investigating on his own, even hiding Till when the latter breaks out of prison and racing through the city chased by his colleagues.
• Friend to All Children: Different than Till, who's somewhat awkward with child witnesses, Felix has a good rapport with them.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Impresses with good manners and a fair bit of knowledge, cultural knowledge in particular, as he's studied arts for a while before he took on a day job to provide for his family.
• Good Parents: A very loving, caring Dad who in doubt prioritizes his kid over making overtimes.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Till actually had another partner before him, Robert Hellmann, but hardly anyone will remember the team as anything else than the combo of Till and Felix.
• Morality Pet: Downplayed since Till isn't always very nice to him, either, but Felix is one of the few people he actually bothers to reconciliate with after a fight.
• Real Men Cook: Comes with being a single father.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The reasonable, empathetic Blue Oni to Till's Red.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: An emotionally open, caring guy interested in arts to balance out Till's roughness.

Lutz Weber

Actor: Ernst-Georg Schwill

Tropes:

• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Somewhat blunt, but on an average day, he still has a calmer attitude and way more patience than either of the detectives.
• Cool Old Guy: Has GDR Berlin still a little more in his bones than his colleagues and isn't above When I Was Your Age... statements, but most of all, he's dedicated to his job, an honest and helpful guy, and always up for a quip. Also note "Filmriss" in which he's the only one of the team who can openly admit to an error of judgement and apologize to Till.
• Mr. Exposition: As he does most of the background research work.
• Non-Action Guy: Stays in the office mostly; the greatest action he's up to is collecting evidence on crime scenes.
• Only Sane Man: Has to take this role when Till and Felix are arguing.
• Shipper on Deck: Mostly in jest, but when he walks in on Felix teaching Till dancing,^note for an upcoming date Till has with a woman he grins widely and says, "I knew it."

Robert Hellmann

Actor: Stefan Jürgens

Tropes:

• Casanova Wannabe: Till says he's that, but there's actually a gender-inverted Single Woman Seeks Good Man at play, as "Dagoberts Enkel" shows that he very much wants a happy relationship.
• Commonality Connection: He and Till have pretty similar life philosophies and go for a drink together several times.
• The Dandy: Another thing he has in common with Till, he always puts in an extra effort for a fashionable look.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: At this point, his entire character almost appears as this, seeing as he only worked with Till for two years.
• The Fettered: Why he eventually quits police service; criminals always being a step ahead wears him down.
• Put on a Bus: After "Der Trippler", he gets a job in security.

Tatort Bremen

Inga Lürsen

Actress: Sabine Postel

Tropes:

• Action Mom: A police investigator and a mother, although she initially doesn't have a very tight bond with her daughter since the latter lives with her father, Inga's ex-husband.
• Badass in Distress: Her impulsiveness gets her into tricky situations often.
• Determinator: Law and instructions won't keep her from solving a case. Bit of a Hardboiled Detective sometimes.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Not quite an alcoholic, but she often ends her stressful days with a glass of wine or two.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Her daughter becomes a police officer as well — and then Inga's superior.
• Former Teen Rebel: Participated in the peace movement of the 1970s, demonstrated against nuclear power plants... and then became a cop, interestingly not despite, but because of her pursuit of social justice.
• Hot-Blooded: She's known for a bit of a temper and a lack of diplomacy.
• I Work Alone: For a long time with changing partners, none of whom cared to stay around or whom she cared to keep. The solo attitude remains after Stedefreund becomes her partner, but he actually adjusts to this and has her back.
• Parents as People: She's prone to prioritizing her job over her family, which she's aware of and regrets, but once her daughter lives with her again, their relationship improves.
• True Companions: Grows to be this with Stedefreund.
• Turn Out Like His Father: Gender-flipped; when her daughter Helen utters her wish to join the police, Inga is initially worried, but she ends up supporting Helen's carreer.
• Workaholic: Self-admittedly lives mostly for her job.

Nils Stedefreund

Actor: Oliver Mommsen

Tropes:

• 10-Minute Retirement: Allegedly leaves Bremen and the police, although he's actually working undercover for the federal authorities. He comes back to his old job before long.
• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: A much less belligerent character than his boss and partner.
• Character Death: In "Wo ist nur mein Schatz geblieben?"
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: He jumps between his partner and a bullet that was meant for her, and then dies before her while she yells for help.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Inga Lürsen was initially working alone or with one-off partners, but once Stedefreund joins her, they become a pretty iconic team.
• Intergenerational Friendship: A generation younger than his partner, but they get along rather well thanks to Stedefreund's amicable nature.
• Perma-Stubble: Part of his look.
• Undying Loyalty: To Inga, to the point where he covers up her solo runs and catches a bullet for her.

Linda Selb

Actress: Luise Wolfram

Tropes:

• Ascended Extra: She occasionally supported Lürsen and Stedefreund as a criminal technician of the federal police, but she becomes a permanent member of the new team, partnering up with Liv Moormann and Mads Andersen.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Gender-flipped; she's the tall gal to short Liv.
• Brutal Honesty: One peculiar habit of hers is that she is blunt to the point of impoliteness and prone to asking the one or other Armor-Piercing Question — it's possible that she's not the most socially sensitive.
• Challenge Seeker: That's why she loves her job.
• The Cynic: Thinks everyone is capable of committing basically every crime if made angry enough, although her Seen It All attitude does not go unchallenged by her colleagues.
• Interclass Friendship: In "Und immer gewinnt die Nacht", she's on her way to forming one with Liv who comes from a family who had to rely on income support — Linda admits that she herself has no experience with what that financial situation means socially.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Somewhat fascinated by the darker abysses of the human psyche. Also of the opinion that life has to hurt a little to be worth it.
• Not So Stoic: Usually quite nonchalant and even a little standoffish, but Liv manages to vex her sometimes, and she's shaken and angry when she thinks that Mads has been killed on a job especially such a short time after she had to witness Stedefreund's death, too.
• Office Romance: She and Stedefreund had some pretty hefty flirting going on, but they never quite worked out a relationship before he died.
• The Smart Guy: Her highly analytical mind made her something of a Hypercompetent Sidekick to Lürsen and Stedefreund; in her new team, she fulfills this function.
• Statuesque Stunner: 5'10", and quite a looker, which often gets underlined by her nice suits.

Liv Moormann

Actress: Jasna Fritzi Bauer

Tropes:

• Action Girl: Seeing as her job demands her to be physically fit and run around with a gun, she's this.
• Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better: She has a variant of this going on with Linda, both of them permanently trying to one-up the other with either their brilliant insight into crimes or their weirder behaviors. It doesn't seem to be so much genuine rivalry as a joke between them.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: The little gal to Linda's tall gal. Lampshaded when she's too short to look through a heightened window in "Und immer gewinnt die Nacht":
  Liv: (to Linda) Don't you dare lift me up there!
• Deadpan Snarker: Her friendlier communication with Linda and Mads consists of plenty wry comments and bad puns.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Her attitude when she shows up first in "Neugeboren" is not the best, as she expects to have to compete with Mads for the job she wants, but later she warms up to the rest of the team.
• Determinator: Not in a particularly charming way; she's something of a pain in the neck, but it gets her to solutions.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible one in comparison to her troubled and much younger half-sister Marie, as shown in "Donuts".
• Insufferable Genius: Tries to be this, and manages to come across as pretty pushy. Too bad she's surrounded by people who are just as smart as she is.
• Interclass Friendship: In "Und immer gewinnt die Nacht", she's on her way to forming one with Linda. The latter doesn't seem to know of living in financial scarcity, while Liv strongly implies she's grown up getting only ever the barest necessities for life. "Donuts" has her meeting with her mother and younger half-sister again, and it shows that it wasn't an exaggeration.
• Self-Made Woman: Takes a certain pride in where her ambition and resilience brought her, and tries to distance herself from the image of the lower social class she comes from, although a suspect from a similar background tells her not to act up so much as her humble origins are obvious.

Mads Andersen

Actor: Dar Salim

Tropes:

• Berserk Button: Don't question his competence. It can piss the usually quite mellow Mads off pretty badly.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Friendlier and more insightful than his colleagues, but he was also undercover in dangerous circumstances for years, so he knows how to hold his own in pretty much any given situation.
• Due to the Dead: In "Und immer gewinnt die Nacht", he visits his father's grave.
• Malaproper: He's Danish, not German, so he has to ask Liv for lingual corrections and explanations a couple times.
• The Mole: Both in Kopenhagen and then in Bremen, he's worked undercover to investigate in criminal Arab clans, presumably because he's got the looks and the cultural background to blend in.
• Only Sane Man: Sometimes, as he's of a calmer and more grounded disposition than either of his colleagues, although it doesn't make him immune to improvised solo runs.
• Parental Substitute: Amazingly, he ends up as a downplayed version of this to Adil, the kid who wants to kill him in "Und immer gewinnt die Nacht" as revenge for his father. Mads both points out that vengeance won't bring Adil onto a happy path and explains to him how and why his father actually died. After that, Adil comes to terms with his father being responsible for his own choices, and decides that he wants to do better. He even helps Mads with a case before they part on good terms because Adil follows Mads' advice to go home to his family.
• Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Discussed with Linda; when she presents her less-than-idealistic worldview, Mads suggests she's actually hoping to be disproven and wants to believe in the good in people just as he does.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Danish teenager Adil threatens to kill Mads because he blames him for the death of his father, but seeing as Adil is maybe 16, Mads doesn't even fight back in earnest.
• You Can't Go Home Again: His friend and former co-worker Aksel wants him to join his team in Kopenhagen, Mads' origin city, to prevent clan criminality on a bigger social scale, but while Mads puts in an effort, he finds that he misses the active police service and his new home in Bremen, so he returns there.

Tatort Cologne

Alfred "Freddy" Schenk

Actor: Dietmar Bär

Tropes:

• Action Dad: Police inspector, and a father of two.
• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Way more popular with his colleagues than Max because he's friendly and empathetic.
• Cool Car: He really loves those, and often borrows nice oldtimers from the confiscated vehicles in the police fundus.
• Dislikes the New Guy: The beginning of his co-working with Max was not easy.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: He'd been the unofficial boss in his department for about a year when there was no successor to the previous boss, and Freddy was certain that he'd get the job for good — when he got Max, at this point a total stranger from outside, as his superior. Needless to say, he's not happy about it.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Son of a cop who became a cop himself.
• Parents as People: A married man and a father of two kids, although his job claims a lot of his time and he's not always there for his family.
• Techno Babble: Can slip into this because he's got a thing for computers and software.

Max Ballauf

Actor: Klaus J. Behrendt

Tropes:

• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Not exactly beloved in comparison to Freddy due to his aloof attitude.
• Disappeared Dad: Technically, his wife left him with both children, but Max considers that maybe he didn't put in enough of an effort to have more contact to them.
• Feeling Their Age: He's getting a bit calmer and more thoughtful with age, and wistful about the lack of a family.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Not a beacon of caring and kindness, but justice is important to him.
• Punch-Clock Hero: Not into bothering with crime cases on his free days.
• Recovered Addict: Was The Alcoholic back when he lived in the USA and was caught as a Drunk Driver after the death of his then-girlfriend. He's mostly got a grip on it these days.
• The Rival: Freddy initially considers him this because Max got the job that Freddy wanted. Toned down over time as they work together, then abandoned for good when Freddy gets promoted to the same level as Max.

Tatort Dresden

Karin Gorniak

Actress: Karin Hanczewski

Tropes:

• 10-Minute Retirement: After getting stabbed in "Das Nest", she has herself be transferred to office duty, but soon finds she can't keep away from the action.
• Action Mom: She's a single mother of a son, Aaron, who's a teenager going through a difficult phase. Due to her job, both working hours and psychological strain, she feels she isn't always a sufficient mother.
• Alcoholic Parent: Touchy when she encounters them elsewhere because of the father she had to endure herself.
• Alone with the Psycho: In "Wer jetzt allein ist" after she started dating a suspect. Again in "Unsichtbar", only here she's been kidnapped by a woman she'd been friends with in university.
• Always a Child to Parent: Exacerbates the rift between her and Aaron, who feels babied and wants more independence. On the other hand, he does appreciate the chance to come home to his mom when he's in conflict with his friends.
• Defective Detective: "Unsichtbar" consolidates that she has anger issues to work on.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Leo due to their dramatic first case. Because of the circumstances, she still needs some time to warm up to Leo, but the trust basis is there.
• Former Teen Rebel: Not to extreme extents, but she sure enjoyed her university time, including wild parties and drugs, especially the latter in stark contrast to her current life philosophy.
• Heroic BSoD: In "Das Nest"; comes with getting stabbed, being stalked by a psycho and having to stand by as said psycho hovers over her sleeping son holding a knife to his throat.
• Jaded Professional: Downplayed. She doesn't hate her job, but she's very aware that it is a job, not her life, and that her possibilities to exert justice above the law are limited.
• Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: In "Déjà-vu", but their affair ends on a bitter note because the straining case Karin has to investigate at the time makes her suspicious of her neighbor's intentions.
• Love Makes You Dumb: In "Wer jetzt allein ist", she's so enamored with the charming suspect that she ignores some obvious evidence of his guilt.
• Parents as People: She loves Aaron and tries her best to keep him on track, but the amount of time and attention she has to invest in her job result in him more and more ignoring his mother's rules.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The analytical, attentive-to-detail Blue Oni to emotion-driven Henni.
• Stepford Snarker: Getting more sarcastic as time passes on and the stress gets bigger.
• What You Are in the Dark: She and Leo face off against a psychopathic killer who has made Karin's life hell and tried to murder her. A bullet from each weapon kills him, and both claim it was self-defence since he was holding a scalpel — in his left hand though, and his left arm was already broken. We never learn what actually happened as they cover up for one another.

Henni Sieland

Actress: Alwara Höfels

Tropes:

• Action Girl: She usually strikes a bit harder than her opponent.
• Attempted Rape: In "Wer jetzt allein ist", after she and Karin each set themselves up as Honey Trap for two suspects.
• Brutal Honesty: She won't shut up just for the sake of such a thing as politeness.
• Darkest Hour: In the very first episode, "Auf einen Schlag", when her Naïve Newcomer colleague Magdalena Mohr gets murdered after Henni and Karin told her to sit back and Magdalena tried to prove herself.
• Deadpan Snarker: Especially toward her boss, for whom she has zero respect.
• Family Versus Career: Despite her relationship failing, she decides to quit police service when she finds out she's pregnant.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: She and her boyfriend have been working towards a child for a while, but as she only finds out that she's actually pregnant after they have already broken up, she says that she doesn't want the baby. Still, in the end it's left unclear whether or not she decides to keep it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's more on the rude side, prone to yelling when she's pissed, and her arguments with her boss or her boyfriend show that she's capable of very scathing verbal punches. She's also very compassionate when it comes to crime victims and their relatives, has a strong sense of morality, and supports socially disadvantaged people, e. g. a young immigrant woman who needs a computer so she can study.
• Law of Inverse Fertility: She and her boyfriend Ole were trying for a baby for quite some time. A bit after their relationship fails, Henni has to learn that she's finally pregnant.
• Put on a Bus: Retires from the police force after "Wer jetzt allein ist".
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Temperamental and relying on her instincts, the Red Oni to Karin's Blue.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Uses a pretty crude language.
• The Snark Knight: Constantly snarky, constantly disappointed by the world, constantly deprecating herself.

Leonie "Leo" Winkler

Actress: Cornelia Gröschel

Tropes:

• Action Girl: Her very first episode has her having to confront a brutal serial killer.
• By-the-Book Cop: Tends to reproach Karin for deviating from the rules.
• Determinator: Sticks to her first case with iron resolve, even though she's not getting anywhere on her own.
• Ensign Newbie: Justified insofar as she's the only inspector on the team when she starts — Henni has quit, Karin got (temporarily) transferred to office service. It becomes obvious pretty soon that she's out of her depth.
• Fair Cop: Her initially a bit lofty attitude and stern hairdo don't really obscure that she's young and pretty.
• Fatal Flaw: Her need to prove herself to her father and her colleagues as a competent inspector.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Karin due to their dramatic first case. Thanks to the circumstances, Karin still needs some time to warm up to her, but the trust basis is there.
• Gender-Blender Name: Is mostly called Leo.
• Married to the Job: Doesn't seem interested in dating, her best friend is her professional partner, and she's so emotionally clogged that she feels uncomfortable with a witness, a young girl, trying to bond with her because Leo reminds the girl of her mother.
• My Greatest Failure: Not having shot to save her brother's life. It catches up with her when she doesn't manage to shoot to save Karin, either, although at least Karin is not fatally wounded. "Parasomnia" implies that she's coming to terms with it.
• Nepotism: Despite her young age, she gets the job as the new inspector after Henni retires because Leo's father, a former inspector himself, is good friends with Schnabel.
• Sibling Team: Was one with her brother prior to his death and her getting transferred to the homicide squad.
• The Unfavorite: Perhaps not initially, but she becomes this to her father after her brother's death.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: At first, she fights for her father's approval, which he, a former police officer, won't give her because he blames her for letting her brother, also a police officer, down on duty and thereby causing his death. At the end of her first episode, she gives the firelighter she's gotten from her father and always kept close back to him, signifying that she tries to give up on this trait and distances herself from him to become more self-sufficient.
• What You Are in the Dark: She and Karin face off against a psychopathic killer who has made Karin's life hell and tried to murder her. A bullet from each weapon kills him, and both claim it was self-defence since he was holding a scalpel — in his left hand though, and his left arm was already broken. We never learn what actually happened as they cover up for one another.

Peter Michael Schnabel

Actor: Martin Brambach

Tropes:

• Bigot with a Badge: Mildly homophobic, mildly racist, mildly misogynistic... he's none of that to an extreme degree, but talking to him is not pleasant.
• Butt-Monkey: He doesn't get along with modern technology, doesn't understand music more modern than, say, 1970s, and is regularly made fun of because of it. Hardly anyone takes him seriously.
• Can't Take Criticism: It sends him yelling when Henni points out his failures.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Tries to compensate for the trope above by exploding on the slightest provocation. Often proves to have No Indoor Voice as a result.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Unexpectedly forms one with Karin's unruly teenage son Aaron during babysitting — after he uses handcuffs to keep Aaron from going to a concert despite being grounded and practices maths with him, they bond when Aaron introduces him to the sort of music he listens to, and after initially scoffing, Schnabel finds that he actually likes it. Once Aaron's grades have gotten better and he's not grounded anymore, Schnabel gets him tickets for an additional concert of his fave band.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Stuck-up, bossy, petty bigot, but he can be compassionate and defends his team from attacks by the press.
• That One Case: There was a pedophile murderer he didn't manage to catch a few years past, and when a boy is killed with the same modus operandi, Schnabel takes that case extremely personally and gets obsessed with finding the killer this time around. They do find him out, solving both the current case and the past one.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: Generally the oldest of the team, no matter of whom the rest of it is composed.
• The One Guy: From the get-go the only male inspector on his team. It doesn't sit well with his conservative attitudes.
• Team Dad: A bumbling one that often clashes with the rest of the team, but when it comes down to it, they are "[his] girls". Gets more pronounced and warmer after Leo joins the team since he's friends with her father and has known her from childhood.

Tatort Duisburg

Horst Schimanski

Actor: Götz George

• Sir Swears-a-Lot: He has a bit of a potty mouth, with "Scheiße" ("shit") seemingly being his most frequently used word. It's also the last word he says during his tenure on the series.
• Working-Class Hero: Comes from a simple proletarian background, living close to many of the same criminals he pursues.

Christian Thanner

Actor: Eberhard Feik

• The Character Died with Him: Due to Eberhard Feik dying in-between seasons, Thanner was said to have been killed in the line of duty at the hands of a renegade officer.
• Foil: Serves as one to Schimanski.

Tatort Ludwigshafen

Lena Odenthal

Actress: Ulrike Folkerts

Tropes:

• Action Girl: Might as well be the Tatort poster lady for this trope. All of the Ludwigshafen police is in awe of her toughness and skill in action.
• Amazonian Beauty: Lena is an athletic, tough woman who kicks ass all around and draws admirers well beyond the age of fifty.
• Badass in Distress: In "Der kalte Tod", when she needs to rely on Kopper to save her.
• Boyish Short Hair: Up to the late 2000s, then she began wearing it a bit longer.
• Broken Ace: She has an exceptional success rate and quite a reputation within the police force. Also, not the socially fittest person around, lonely and often coming off as bitter.
• Defective Detective: As time passes, she lives more and more for the job. There's no remaining contact to her family, and she seems unable to hold onto a stable relationship.
• Determinator: There's absolutely nothing that will get her to give a case out of hand before its solution.
• Dislikes the New Guy: Is initially very hostile towards Johanna Stern.
• Ensign Newbie: When she's transferred from vice squad to homicide; the position of the head inspector has been vacant for a while, and Lena is young but highly competent.
• Good Is Not Soft: She's merciless when she's convinced of someone's guilt.
• Iconic Outfit: For the bigger part of her run, Lena is seen in a black leather jacket that underlines her tomboy persona. In more recent years, the instances of her wearing it become rarer.
• I Work Alone: She has a hard time working with people other than Kopper; after he's sacked, she's not going easy on her new partner Johanna Stern.
• The Lad-ette: An athletic, sometimes crude, dominant woman who for the first half of her appearances looks like your stereotypical Tomboy.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: In her more recent appearances, she's the older cop to Johanna Stern's younger.
• Platonic Life-Partners: For a long time, she and her partner Kopper share a flat. She takes his dismissal and subsequent move to Sicily pretty hard.
• Promotion to Parent: Her mother died early, resulting in Lena as the eldest becoming mostly responsible for her sisters. After her father's death, she cut ties with her family.
• Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: The number of times she wears a skirt or dress can be counted on one hand. Kinda justified since pants are simply the better choice for a job in which she has to do a lot of running.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Usually seen in jeans and leather jacket, wears her hair short, physically fit, can't really cook, has an action-loaded job. Loves her cat very much and quite enjoys a romantic starlight dinner. Watches soccer games with a passion, but can be distracted with flowers.

Mario Kopper

Actor: Andreas Hoppe

Tropes:

• All of the Other Reindeer: Not exactly popular with his colleagues.
• Commonality Connection: Both he and Lena are cynics who tend to easily blow up in someone's face, but they get along very well among each other.
• Cool Car: Has a thing for older Italian cars.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Lena whose life he saved on their first case together.
• Hidden Depths: He plays guitar in a band; they actually have gigs on occasion.
• Hot-Blooded: He has quite a temper when it comes to things by which he feels personally affected.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Lena actually worked on her own for several years before she and Kopper became inseparable.
• Last-Name Basis: Lena always calls him "Kopper", even after twenty years. This is a plot point in "Der Wald steht schwarz und schweiget"; when Lena, who has been abducted, calls him "Mario" on the phone while not tipping off her captor with anything else, Kopper asks her, puzzled, if she's still angry with him about their previous argument — and realizes that something is wrong.
• My Beloved Smother: He has a good relationship with his mother, but her sending him care packages and calling him at work is sometimes a bit much.
• Parental Issues: Had a complicated relationship with his father.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Lena whose best friend and only constant he is.
• Put on a Bus: Gets caught up in a friend's mafia entanglements, is fired from the police force because of it and then moves to Sicily Starting a New Life with his fiancée.
• Real Men Cook: Which Lena really appreciates in their living arrangement.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: A type for suits, nice coats and fancy silk ties.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He's the only one who'll call Lena out on her less than stellar moments.

Johanna Stern

Actress: Lisa Bitter

Tropes:

• Action Mom: She has two young children and is a police inspector. Interestingly, the Action part doesn't really apply initially, as she admits in her first episode to being not very athletic. Took a Level in Badass later on.
• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Lena is the senior and calls the shots, but Johanna is generally more approachable, polite and collected.
• Ascended Extra: Brought in as Kopper's vacation replacement, but she stays and later becomes Lena's new assistant after Kopper has quit.
• By-the-Book Cop: She needs some time to get used to Lena's loose interpretation of guidelines.
• Damsel in Distress: Is taken captive by a killer and has to be rescued by Lena in "Vom Himmel hoch".
• Family Versus Career: This begins to strain her, and eventually her husband files for divorce — although Johanna keeps her children and seems to be handling this well enough.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: Some twenty years younger than Lena.
• Pride Before a Fall: Introduced as a rather haughty woman who has the gall to tell Lena that perhaps it's time for her to retire. She falls on her ass soon enough.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The friendly, calm, analytical Blue Oni to Lena's temperamental and instinct-driven Red.
• The Smart Guy: She works methodically and with analytics and numbers.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Way more of a girly girl than Lena.

Tatort Munich

Franz Leitmayr

Actor: Udo Wachtveitl

Tropes:

• Abusive Parents: His father was emotionally neglectful and physically abusive; it's why Franz keeps distant from him when his father is old. He still has a hard time dealing with his death.
• Ambiguously Bi: "Die ewige Welle" establishes that he was in a triangle relationship with Frida and Mikesch when he was in his twenties, but he says he wanted to be with Frida only... despite flashbacks showing that he was very much cuddly with Mikesch and kissed him on the mouth, too.
• Anger Born of Worry: Boy, he gets pissed whenever Ivo manages to get himself into danger, which happens every now and then.
• Brutal Honesty: In "Der tiefe Schlaf", Franz plainly tells the new probationary assistant that he's incredibly annoying and that working with him doesn't get the team anywhere. The poor idiot is dead soon afterwards as he was trying to prove himself, resulting in Franz reproaching himself bitterly.
• Burn the Witch!: Almost becomes a victim of this in "Gefallene Engel" by the hands of a religious fanatic for befriending a Hooker with a Heart of Gold. Ivo and Carlo get him off the stake at the very last moment.
• Chick Magnet: Had varying girlfriends in the early years. This aspect was toned down over time, but he became a Silver Fox with advancing age, so it's not like he's getting no attention anymore.
• Cool Car: The red Porsche he had early on — arguably, because it was in need of repair more often than not. After the first three episodes of the team, Franz gave it up in favor of a more reliable car.^note Amusingly, this coincides with him breaking up with his rich but fickle girlfriend Laura.
• Cool Old Guy: Becomes this as time passes.
• Darkest Hour: Goes through this in "Der Tod ist unser ganzes Leben" when his trust in Ivo is put to a hard test.
• Deadpan Snarker: Way too seasoned to cave in before rude or threatening suspects, attorneys and criminals; he has a sarcastic comment for each and every one of them.
• Determinator: Getting told off by the higher-ups or being ordered to lay down a case has never stopped him. Can reach obsessive levels at times.
• Friend to All Children: He never had kids of his own, but he bonds easily with them, e. g. in "...und die Musi spielt dazu", "Frau Bu lacht", "Häschen in der Grube", "Jagdzeit" and "Die letzte Wiesn".
• Green-Eyed Monster: Early on, in his respective relationships with Laura and Susanne. In all fairness, Laura blatantly fuelled his jealousy by going on and on about Ivo in his presence, and Susanne did cheat on him.
• Grow Old with Me: A platonic version (presumably): He and Ivo discuss on one occasion to get a place together when they've reached pension age.
• Heroic BSoD: Goes through one at the end of "Blutiger Asphalt" after he had to fire a fatal shot at a man who was not malevolent, but mentally unstable and an immediate danger for civilians.
  • In "Der traurige König", after Franz shot in self-defence and mortally wounded a man whose gun later turned out to be a replic, he shows signs of serious PTSD.
  • And yet another one in "Der tiefe Schlaf" after a colleague he openly disliked is murdered. Franz collects Guilt Complexes like other people do postage stamps.
• Headbutt of Love: When Ivo finally gets through to him at the end of "Außer Gefecht" and Franz has, by the skin of his teeth, survived his round of Alone with the Psycho.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ivo. The two bicker Like an Old Married Couple.
• Hidden Depths: Speaks a pretty decent Italian, can quote some Goethe and Sokrates, and draws. Also a fan of Johnny Cash.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Jenny, the mother of an ex-girlfriend of his. Even after he broke up with Angelika, he and Jenny still liked each other and so kept up their friendship.
• The Lost Lenore: He actually has two of those, Anne from "Im freien Fall" and Lisa from "Am Ende des Flurs", two women he was deeply in love with, both of whom died pretty tragically a short time after they ended their respective relationships with him. Needless to say, it has put Franz badly through the wringer.
• Love Triangle: He's not over his ex-girlfriend Katrin in "Liebe, Sex, Tod" when the latter starts dating Ivo of all people. Interestingly, his and Ivo's friendship survives the situation after an amicable talk, while Katrin and Ivo break up.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: He might have an adult son. In a rare instance of the trope, this is not because he was being cheated on — he, Frida and Mikesch had a polyamorous relationship with all the necessary honesty when he was younger. Only, after they parted ways, Frida chose to never tell either of the guys which of them is her son's father, although she apparently knows.
• Manly Tears: Very rare, but there are two notable instances: In "Der tiefe Schlaf" at the memorial service of his murdered colleague and in "Frau Bu lacht" after he finds a witness has committed suicide — before the eyes of her five-year-old daughter. The child tells Franz "Mommy's sleeping at the ceiling", seemingly incapable of grasping or emotionally too shut-down to understand what has happened, and considering what the poor kid has been through even before that, Franz is completely overwhelmed with by-proxy grief.
• N-Word Privileges: The only one who gets to call Ivo a "Yugo"^note Ivo is of Croatian origin, not of Yugoslavian; not everyone minds the distinction without getting more than a wry grin or a playful slap for it.
• Perma-Stubble: Since about the late 2000s, he usually runs around with a five-o'clock shadow.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In "Frau Bu lacht", he and Ivo let an immigrant woman flee back to Thailand despite knowing she killed her husband — that guy got her and her four-year-old daughter via a marriage bureau and used their dependence on him to keep them isolated and sexually abuse the child. It's a rather notable exception; usually, when Ivo is kind of willing to let someone get away with vigilantism, Franz is the one who reminds him that they have to protect the law.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Franz loves Italian food — well, good Italian food, not canned ravioli.
• Tragic Keepsake: In "Die letzte Wiesn", a shot of his apartment actually shows a picture that Anne, his volatile girlfriend, had painted and given to him before her death.
• Turn in Your Badge: When he collaborates with and protects Ivo as the latter is the suspect in a murder case in "Wir sind die Guten". Naturally, even decommissioned, he will move heaven and earth to prove his friend was being framed.
• Vomiting Cop: In "Der Prügelknabe" after he had a hefty car accident, probably a result of his concussion... although you could make a point for Franz holding it back until the moment he could throw up on the shoes of a colleague he didn't like.

Ivo Batic

Actor: Miroslav Nemec

Tropes:

• Berserk Button: Because of his Croatian ancestry, he had to deal with xenophobia and stereotyping way too often and is touchy about it.
• Bilingual Bonus: Since Miroslav Nemec has, like his character, Croatian roots, expect Ivo to pepper his anger with Croatian curses. Also comes in handy when they have to talk to Croatian immigrants. We even get to hear him sing a few times.
• Chick Magnet: Was more pronounced as this when he was a young, clean-shaven Mr. Fanservice, but seeing as he grew into quite a Silver Fox, Ivo still draws his fair share of attention to him.
• Cigarette of Anxiety: Generally speaking, Ivo doesn't smoke, but as Franz reappears after having been taken hostage for several hours in "Im Visier", Ivo greets him saying that he had a smoke because of him, and he's seen smoking after the death of a colleague in "Der tiefe Schlaf".
• Cool Old Guy: Becomes this as time passes.
• Cowboy Cop: Downplayed, but he's a little more prone to this than his partner. In "Klassen-Kampf", he has to be held back from getting into a brawl with a bunch of Nazis, and in "Nie wieder frei sein", catching a rapist and murderer that already got away from them once, he gets fairly violent. Franz is the only witness for this and covers up for him — but he calls Ivo out on his actions afterwards, reminding him that the police has to respect the law more than anyone else.
• Deadpan Snarker: Not quite as consistently wry as Franz is, but he can hold his own in a Snark-to-Snark Combat in the team.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Both in "Das Glockenbachgeheimnis" and in "A g'mahde Wiesn", Ivo starts dating a beautiful witness — Frieda and Evelin, respectively, and either of the ladies is also a potential suspect, as a displeased Franz points out on either occasion.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In "Ein ganz normaler Fall", a misunderstanding leads him to assume that his co-workers have a much higher professional opinion of Franz than of him and think the superiors go lightly on him because he's an immigrant. That's actually not the case, but until it's cleared up, it pisses Ivo off pretty badly.
• Family Man: His family lives in Croatia, but he has a very good relationship to his aunts as well as to his cousin and her family and is happy whenever they get the chance to visit him.
• Feeling Their Age: Something that seems to bother him more than Franz; he is occasionally bitter about them getting old.
• Friend to All Children: He doesn't have any own, but proves to get along well with kids he encounters during the cases, e. g. "Frau Bu lacht", "Kleine Diebe", "Ein mörderisches Märchen" and "Die Wahrheit".
• Grow Old with Me: A platonic version (presumably):
  Franz: Can you imagine to ever leave this place?
  Ivo: Not without you.
  Franz: *wryly* I'll never get rid of you.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He's a bit on the irritable side. Amusingly, self-aware about this trait of his and able to make fun of it.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Franz. The two bicker Like an Old Married Couple.
• Hidden Depths: He can play piano and loves opera.
• Iconic Outfit: His brown leather jacket, although he doesn't wear it all the time.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Can pull them off with a fierce Death Glare if sufficiently angry.
• I Did What I Had to Do: In "Unklare Lage", he shoots a teenage girl to stop her from setting off a bomb in the middle of Munich. He's not proud of this, but feels he had to act to protect civilians.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: See "Animals", "Aida", "Im freien Fall" and "Häschen in der Grube" — if there's a cat around, expect Ivo to cuddle it. Although Heroes Love Dogs applies, too.
• Must Make Amends: He once slept with the wife of a friend of his after which their marriage failed.^note He was actually only one of many men with whom she cheated on her husband. Plagued by his conscience for years on end, he tries his damnest to protect said friend when the latter is a crime suspect.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "Die Wahrheit", Franz gets concerned about his increasingly erratic and short-tempered conduct. What Ivo doesn't want to tell him is that it's not only the difficult case eating away at him — he's suffering from insomnia and anxiety attacks, the job taking its psychological toll on him.
• Psychic Powers: Amusingly, more than one episode implies that Ivo is sometimes Dreaming of Things to Come, although it's never made clear how seriously that should be taken.
• Rape as Backstory: In "Wir kriegen euch alle", Ivo recounts that, when he was a teen training for athletics youth championships, his coach molested him in the shower. After that, Ivo never came back for training. Sure, with the undercover situation he's in, one could make a point that's part of his story to be accepted in the victim support group... but there's a strong implication that actually happened to him.
• Real Men Cook: With much more skill and enthusiasm than his partner.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In "Frau Bu lacht", he and Franz let an immigrant woman flee back to Thailand despite knowing she killed her husband — that guy got her and her four-year-old daughter via a marriage bureau and used their dependence on him to keep them isolated and sexually abuse the child.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Had one with a police trainee while he was an instructor at the Munich police academy. Not as morally questionable as many instances of the trope since, despite the age difference, the lady in question was an adult and Ivo didn't have any real authority over her; they ended up as Amicable Exes.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: In "Wir sind die Guten" after he got almost killed. Subsequently, he puts Franz, whom he doesn't remember being his best friend, through the wringer with his capricious behavior and goes through a Heroic BSoD because his attempts to remember result in disturbing hallucinations and paranoia.
• Turn in Your Badge: In "Der Prügelknabe", it's Franz of all people who has to demand that of him — because he's trying to protect Ivo from a malevolent colleague.
• Unbroken Vigil: For example in "Das verlorene Kind" when Franz is knocked out; Ivo stays at his hospital bed until he wakes up. This is kind of a reciprocal tradition between them though.
• What You Are in the Dark: "Der Tod ist unser ganzes Leben" brings up the question if Ivo, with his unfortunate Screw the Rules, They Broke Them First! attitude towards capital criminals, would shoot a murderer he really hates if left alone with him. He didn't, he was just very willing to cover up for the woman who did.

Carlo Menzinger

Actor: Michael Fitz

Tropes:

• Desk Jockey: Mostly found in the office doing research work, also because he's the most adept with computers.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Doesn't always feel appreciated, case in point "Starkbier" where he's charged with the main part of an investigation but feels Ivo and Franz monitor him all the time.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: An early episode, "Klassen-Kampf", has him thoughtlessly saying some rather blatantly racist stuff not only about the suspects involved in the case, but also about Ivo, for which Franz chews him out. This trait never shows up again.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With the senior police officer Matteo Lechner whom he wants to ask in "Macht und Ohnmacht" to be his best man at his wedding.
• Manchild: Has a constantly easy-going attitude and his main interest is his own amusement.
• Mellow Fellow: There's not much that actually upsets him.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Takes hardly anything seriously, comes up with an eccentric new idea on each appearance, and generally faces Franz' and/or Ivo's current mood or trouble with a quip.
  Frances (Franz' current girlfriend): *worried* There's something wrong with Franz!
  Carlo: *completely over-the-top worry* WHAT? There's something wrong with Franz?
  Frances: *confused* Yes...
  Carlo: Huh, none of the other ladies ever complained.
• Punch-Clock Hero: Something that differs him vastly from Franz and Ivo — he values his private life and doesn't pursue a case into limitless overtime. Years after he has quit, he admits pretty bluntly that he thinks the job sucks, much to the displeasure of Ivo.
• Put on a Bus: After sixteen years in the department, he retires in 2007 when he inherits several millions and moves to Thailand.
  • The Bus Came Back: For a guest appearance in 2013.
• Third Wheel: He complains about feeling like this a few times.
• True Companions: With Franz and Ivo until he retires.

Karl-Heinz "Kalli" Hammermann

Actor: Ferdinand Hofer

Tropes:

• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: His bosses Franz and Ivo can be difficult and temperamental, Kalli is a veritable sweetheart.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Naturally, since he wasn't even born yet when Franz and Ivo began working together. They recognize him as a competent and hardworking assistant, but they're also his mentors who boss him around and have their condescending moments.
• Desk Jockey: Takes over the research job — although he sees a fair bit more action than Carlo did in his days because Ivo and Franz often take Kalli along to the crime scene and for questioning witnesses.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Doesn't join the team before 2014, but since then, he's become indispensable.
• Like Father, Like Son: Not quite since Ivo and Franz are his mentors, not his dads, but with the somewhat bossy way in which he begins talking to his colleagues after a while, they still point out that he has picked it up from them.
• New Meat: Freshly out of uniformed service and very eager to do a good job as an inspector.
• Only Sane Man: The only one who keeps a cool head when Ivo and Franz are at each other's throats.
• The Pollyanna: Not to an extent that would make him naïve regarding police work, but he's noticeably more upbeat than the cynics he works with every day.
• Running Gag: The homicide department is often undermanned, so who's sent out to do all the background research? Kalli 1, Kalli 2, Kalli 3...
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In "Der Tod ist unser ganzes Leben", he supports Franz' efforts to help Ivo by getting him information, even though his boss is not permitted to investigate a case he's personally involved in.
• Servile Snarker: Since either Franz or Ivo can be something of a Mentor in Sour Armor, Kalli copes with subtle snark.
• Shipper on Deck: He repeatedly makes clear that he'd like to see his mom getting together with Franz — which would make his boss basically his stepfather, so perhaps that's why Franz is so immensely flustered by Kalli's attempts to play matchmaker.

Tatort Münster

Frank Thiel

Actor: Axel Prahl

Tropes:

• Age-Gap Romance: In "Der doppelte Lott", he and the young waitress Larissa get close. Unfortunately, she turns out to be in Münster searching vengeance for her sister, prioritizing murder over a romance.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: No episode will go by without Thiel and Boerne arguing, but he gets into serious panic whenever Boerne is in danger, prime example of which would be "Limbus".
• Catchphrase: "Moinsen." It's a bastardized version of Moin, a common greeting in Northern Germany.
  • Another would be: "What you're telling me is like spoken into an open grave."^note Meaning he will keep it to himself.
• Cop and Scientist: Forms that sort of team with Boerne.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not an intellectual like Boerne, seems to stick with a kind of proletarian lifestyle and instinct-driven approach to cases. In "Eine Leiche zu viel", a woman calls him mediocre. Not a minute later, he shoots a syringe out of her hand from 40 feet distance, without giving her so much as a scratch.
• Daddy Didn't Show: Inverted — after his divorce, his ex-wife moved to New Zealand with their son, and Thiel hardly sees any of his kid's growing up, so he naturally looks forward to his son's Christmas visit. Which is then quickly cancelled a day before.
• Deadpan Snarker: Majorly unimpressed with most people around him. Especially Boerne.
• Fish out of Water: Is this initially after moving to Münster; he was born there, but raised in the far larger city of Hamburg.
• Friend to All Children: Gets along very well with children, especially apparent in "Fakten, Fakten".
• Good Old Fisticuffs: He's got a hands-on approach to police action. Reinforced in "Höllenfahrt"; he won't try to talk someone into putting a weapon down when he can as well start a physical fight to handle the situation.
• Incompatible Orientation: He goes out of his way to help a young woman investigate her past rape in "Wolfsstunde" — Klemm and Boerne, who don't believe there's a case to investigate, call him out on doing it only because he's obviously enamored with her. Turns out she has a girlfriend. Which, of course, doesn't keep Thiel from doing his job.
• Innocently Insensitive: Every now and then; he's not the most tactful person alive, but he's rarely mean on purpose.
• Interclass Friendship: With Boerne, although Thiel makes clear that he thinks his rich, sophisticated neighbor is a huge snob.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: A whole different generation than his assistant Nadeshda.
• Parental Issues: After his mother left his father and took him with her, he didn't have the best relationship to Thiel sr. who cared more about his own amusement than about the law or his son. Living in the same city again, it's gotten a bit better, but on one occasion he's Calling the Old Man Out for a time when Thiel sr. handed him his joint just as the police was coming in so the son got arrested for his father's weed. There's a bit of remaining grudge, and Thiel sr. financially exploiting his adult son isn't helping.
• Stout Strength: Just because he doesn't look athletic doesn't mean you should underestimate him in a fight.
• Street Smart: May appear a bit simple, but he has a good instinct regarding people, keeps a cool head in situations of crisis and often is the one to put together the pieces Boerne has figured out.
• Who's Your Daddy?: In "Fangschuss", Leila, the twenty-year-old daughter of Thiel's ex-girlfriend, shows up and is insistent that he's one of two men who, according to her mother, could be her father, and she's already ruled the other out. She was wrong about that; a DNA test reveals she's indeed not Thiel's daughter but that of the other man whom she had assumed to be sterile. Thiel and Leila do grow kinda fond of each other nonetheless.

Prof. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Boerne

Actor: Jan Josef Liefers

Tropes:

• Affectionate Nickname: A few of his friends and also his niece call him "KF".
• Can't Take Criticism: Absolutely incapable of admitting that he might have made a mistake.
• Cool Car: He can afford them, he'll have them. Can get him into passionate rants about various models.
• Cop and Scientist: The very sophisticated scientist to Thiel's rather rough-around-the-edges cop.
• Drives Like Crazy: It's a miracle he's still allowed to drive at all with how many times he's breached the speed limit.
• Dr. Jerk: He can be a colossally arrogant bastard, but he's a brilliant forensic doctor.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Professor Doctor Doctor Boerne, and he loves to rub it in everyone's faces while still holding onto decorum.
• Gentleman Snarker: No less wry than Thiel, just more sophisticated about his word choice.
• Hypocritical Heartwarming: He can insult Frau Haller all he wants. Everyone else who tries will face his wrath.
• Insufferable Genius: Might as well be the poster guy for this. It gets really annoying when he's Ignorant of His Own Ignorance because, for example, his knowledge of psychology is entirely theoretical, but will act like he's a legit reference person for real-life therapeutic situations.
• Interclass Friendship: With Thiel, in spite of Boerne's endless confusion and distaste with his neighbor's simple life.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He'll always help out a friend, and go to great if not illegal lengths for it. He'll also always rub it in.
  • Also has a surprisingly good manner with patients and relatives of victims, as the first episode establishes.
• Luxurious Liquor: Has a thing for fine drinks. Occasionally dips into The Alcoholic, although the extent to which he drinks is rarely treated as a problem. Up until "Mord ist die beste Medizin" when he frets over a potentially damaged liver.
• Mean Boss: How he shoos Frau Haller around, presumes her to work overtimes whenever it's convenient for him, and talks down to her is just plain rude, although he rarely goes far enough for her to find it hurtful.
• Parental Issues: Never quite lived up to the expectations of his (much older) father, and is still resentful of the pressure put on him to represent their family (every Boerne before him had been a doctor).
• Real Men Cook: One of his passions; even Thiel admits that Boerne's cooking, if extravagant, is tasty.
• Sore Loser: In "Höllenfahrt", he manipulates a golf tournament because he can't stand watching his opponent's victory.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Usually seen in either an expensive suit or a neat outfit befitting the sport of the week (riding, golf etc.) unless you meet him in the morgue.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Without a doubt pretty brilliant, and short-sighted to boot.
• Took a Level in Jerkass/Flanderisation: More recent episodes show him less caring, more callous and derisive of people and more genuinely snobbish than he was established in earlier years.

Silke "Alberich" Haller

Actor: ChrisTine Urspruch

Tropes:

• Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Different than Boerne, she shows basic decency and compassion.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Like Thiel she shows every now and then that, for all his attitude, Boerne is actually very dear to her.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Extremely long-suffering, but if Boerne or anyone else takes it too far, she can be merciless.
• Damsel in Distress: Both in "Limbus" and "Rhythm and Love", she finds herself in the clutches of a ruthless killer and needs help to get away. In "Der Fluch der Mumie", she becomes a Damsel out of Distress by stabbing her captor in the knee with a letter opener.
• Gentleman Snarker: Her sarcasm directed at Boerne is more delicate, but also more pointed than his.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde and a much more openly kind person than her boss.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Adopts an orphaned dog who belonged to a Victim of the Week, a huge German Mastiff named Wotan, as in, almost as tall as her.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Boerne isn't actually exceptionally tall, but with Frau Haller standing at 4'3", they still look that way next to each other.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: She may not have the titles her boss has, but Boerne has no qualms having her work on her own as he knows she can handle it.
• Insult of Endearment: While being blatantly rude in any other context, considering it's the name of a mythological dwarf king, "Alberich" boils down to this as long as it's Boerne who calls her that (basically, he's calling her the queen of all dwarves).
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Mirko as of "Rhythm and Love".
• Morality Chain: Tries to rein in Boerne's more insensitive moments; success varies.
• My Greatest Failure: Because of her meticulous and reliable work, she takes losing a piece of evidence in "Rhythm and Love" very hard and can't bring herself to admit the error to Boerne when said evidence becomes key in their case.
• Pen Pals: "Der Fluch der Mumie" reveals that she's this with Andreas Lechner, a prison inmate. When he's released, he visits Frau Haller to thank her for keeping up contact and taking an interest, and she supports his way back into a regular life.
• Silent Snarker: Endlessly rolling her eyes at Boerne's lame jokes about her short size.

Nadeshda Krusenstern

Actress: Friederike Kempter

Tropes:

• Action Girl: A softer version than other women in the fandom, but if the need arises, she's not to be underestimated.
• Character Death: Gets shot in action; last time we see her is a dreamed Dead Person Conversation with Boerne in "Limbus".
• Daddy's Girl: Has a very good relationship with her parents; the times when her father is seen because the team is eating at his restaurant or because Nadeshda helps out there, he obviously has a high opinion of her and cares a lot about her happiness.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In "Wolfsstunde", after days of endless phonecalls and working overtime because she has to replace Thiel, she finally snaps when he's pretty dismissive of the stress she's in and just piles up more on her. After she yells for a bit, he apologizes.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A blonde who's friendly, attentive and caring.
• An Immigrant's Tale: An ethnic German born in Russia who came to Münster with her parents; they find it much harder to assimilate to West German society than her.
• Never Gets Drunk: Downplayed because it's not quite never, but she can tolerate a lot, perhaps because her father has a restaurant where a lot of parties take place.
• Nice Girl: In comparison to her grumpy bosses Klemm and Thiel as well as Boerne's snobbery, she's really sweet.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: Her boss Thiel's young assistant.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Zig-Zagged. "Mord ist die beste Medizin" has her dating Mark, a nice single father whose daughter Mia is a fervent Shipper on Deck for them, whereas in "Väterchen Frost", she and her kidnapper Artjom get close, establishing more of All Girls Want Bad Boys.

Mirko Schrader

Björn Meyer

Tropes:

• Ascended Extra: Was just a vacation replacement before, became Thiel's new assistant after Nadeshda's death.
• But Not Too Gay: With how casually Thiel mentions it in "Rhythm and Love", he seems to be out, but so far we haven't seen him in a relationship or flirting with a guy. Although it's enough to prompt a Not That There's Anything Wrong with That ramble from Boerne.
• Desk Jockey: Mostly put up for research work and telephone duty and very competent in that; as he's a Non-Action Guy, he's visibly out of his comfort zone when he starts to see more police action on-scene.
• Gentle Giant: Big guy, and also really nice.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Bonds with Frau Haller who's about twenty years his senior.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Tries this in "Rhythm and Love" with the only karate move has mastered. He sprains his ankle in the process, but hey, he does rescue Frau Haller from a criminal.
• You, Get Me Coffee: Starts out in this role. To his credit, he makes really excellent coffee.

Wilhelmine Klemm

Actress: Mechthild Großmann

Tropes:

• Brutal Honesty: She's only polite if it serves her reputation and career.
  Boerne: You're not listening to me, are you?
  Klemm: No.
• Commander Contrarian: She frequently gets in the way of Thiel's work when he cannot deliver her a clean, easy case that makes for good publicity.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: For all her bitchy ways, it's her integrity which is her most distinguishing trait (right after the chain smoking) – when a rich Münsteraner tries to bribe her by increasing a donation to one of her charities tenfold, she says nothing, leaves the building, and rips up the cheque demonstratively in front of the waiting Thiel, ordering him to "Tear him apart".
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: She's unapologetically rude, demanding, smokes always and everywhere with no respect for bans and prioritizes her reputation over Thiel's endeavor to solve cases.
• Never My Fault: Despite her habit to dish out search or arrest warrants too late and tell Thiel off from cases, she never blames herself for maneuvering the team into dead ends.
• Smug Smiler: Her default expression beside exasperated surliness.
• Vocal Dissonance: Courtesy of smoking nonstop; her voice is extremely low and gravelly, to the point where she's mistaken for a man on the phone.

Tatort Saarbrücken

Adam Schürk

Actor: Daniel Sträßer

Tropes

• Abusive Parents: His father Roland subjected him to intense military drills and beat him.
• Cigarette of Anxiety: Adam is smoking a lot in the beginning, especially in "Der Herr des Waldes" after talks to his father as those are always a strain on him. Interestingly, when he's asked in "Das Herz der Schlange" whether he's a smoker, he denies it, so he might have quit meanwhile.
• Closet Punishment: His father locked him in a closet every night and he was forced to drink his own urine.
• Death Glare: He does this a lot, subjugating his father to it just as much as his mother, his colleague Esther, or his best friend. Helped by Daniel Sträßer's Icy Blue Eyes.
• Defective Detective: Short-tempered and rude with witnesses, although his paranoia often turns out to be good instinct.
• Establishing Character Moment: Both his first scene as an adult and the first flashback to his adolescence establish him as a Bully Hunter, respectively punching a man who was verbally abusing his son in the face and defending Leo against a Gang of Bullies in the schoolyard.
• Fiery Cover-Up: He and Leo set the garage on fire in order to cover up the fact that Leo knocked Adam's father into a coma to save Adam.
• Good Is Not Nice: A good cop who's defending the law and protecting people, and hardly shows anything along the lines of empathy, kindness, or basic politeness.
• Hates Their Parent: For a good reason; his father used to (and still does) treat him like shit; now that he can't just beat Adam anymore, he goes for psychological torture. When Adam is confronted with a situation in which his father could be killed in "Der Herr des Waldes", he seriously considers to let it happen.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Leo, or at least that is assumed for now. They definitely stick together like glue, sharing absolute trust and a very intense emotional bond, but with the Held Gazes and all, their sexuality is still up in the air.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's got No Social Skills, a Hair-Trigger Temper, snarks at everyone and gets loud easily. He is however fiercely loyal to his friends — mostly of course Leo, but he starts bonding with the rest of the team as well — and has a deeply ingrained sense of justice which he won't keep quiet about.
• Mr. Fanservice: Easy on the eye, wearing a lot of skin-tight shirts and sweaters, and he gets a shirtless scene in "Das Herz der Schlange".
• Oh, Crap!: A silent one written across his face when his father wakes up from coma.
• Old Friend: He and Leo used to be friends but separated ways after Leo put Adam's father in a coma. They reunite in their first episode after Adam unexpectedly becomes Leo's new partner.
• Parental Issues: It goes without saying that his relationship with his father is beyond repair, but he's not exactly on good terms with his mother either, who used to stand by and let the abuse happen. Adam still loves her and worries about her, but he doesn't react well to her attempts to warm up their interactions a bit.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The irascible, hostile Red to Leo's Blue.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Depending on how vexed he gets, he peppers his sentences with more and more cussing anglicisms.
• Social Services Does Not Exist: Adam was abused by his father for years but nobody, not even Leo who witnessed the abuse first-hand, ever thought about notifying social services about it.
• Stepford Snarker: Has endless sarcastic remarks on hand, and is pretty miserable for a long time.
• Took a Level in Kindness: By "Das Herz der Schlange", now having been back in Saarbrücken and a part of the team for a while, Adam seems to be getting better, hanging out with his colleagues, appearing a lot calmer and making good-natured jokes instead of his biting sarcasm.
• Trauma Conga Line: Abused by his father throughout his childhood, covered up his friend's putting his father in a coma via arson, implied to have lived on the streets for a bit after he ran away from home. Then he comes home to face the best friend and mother he left behind, his father wakes up from coma and, because he can't physically abuse him anymore, proceeds to torture him emotionally and psychologically and tries to frame him for murder, getting Adam into prison where he promptly gets some fingers broken by someone he used to trust.
• When He Smiles: A genuine smile of Adam's is a rare occurence, but it usually has a certain impact on Leo.

Leo Hölzer

Actor: Vladimir Burlakov

Tropes

• All of the Other Reindeer: In the beginning, his co-workers in the precinct are openly contemptuous of him because they blame him for not shooting at a criminal in a dangerous situation. This lets up after his disciplinary procedure.
• Armor-Piercing Response: In "Das fleißige Lieschen", when Adam rants about their case and that the family they investigate is caught by something from their past, Leo points out that Adam himself hasn't confronted his past yet.
• The Atoner: He keeps visiting Adam's father in the hospital for 15 years after he knocked him into a coma. Also keeps protecting Adam because he feels incredibly guilty over having kept silence about Adam's abuse in childhood.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: His friendship with Adam began because the latter saved him from a bunch of bullies in school.
• Determinator: Won't sleep or give up before he has gotten his best friend out of prison.
• Doesn't Like Guns: To be more precise, he doesn't like to use them for anything beyond threatening. Having caused someone lasting damage once already, he really doesn't want to ever risk that again.
• Face Your Fears: His reluctance to use his gun made his former partner leave and got him into a disciplinary procedure. Faces his fear in "Der Herr des Waldes" when he shoots Peter Lausch to save Roland Schürk.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Adam, or at least that is assumed for now. They definitely stick together like glue, sharing absolute trust and a very intense emotional bond, but with the Held Gazes and all, their sexuality is still up in the air.
• Mr. Fanservice: Very good-looking, and usually presented in tight shirts that leave his biceps on display.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Having put Roland Schürk into a coma to save Adam keeps haunting him for 15 years.
• Past Experience Nightmare: Still dreams of the day he hit Adam's father with a spade, knocking him into a coma for 15 years.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The calmer, friendly Blue to Adam's Red.
• Save the Jerk: Does this to Roland Schürk in "Der Herr des Waldes".
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He won't let such minor details as Adam being arrested or his team getting taken off the case keep him from investigating on Adam's behalf.
• Secret-Keeper: He and Adam shared the spot for each other for 15 years. In "Das Herz der Schlange", he gives up on the secret, telling Pia and Esther what happened back then.
• Statute of Limitations: His attack on Roland Schürk would fall under this if it was counted as assault but not if it was considered an attempted manslaughter. This worries both him and Adam a lot, until Pia explains that it would fall under the right of defense of a third person.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He is not happy with Adam trying to convince him to let Roland Schürk die.
• What You Are in the Dark: Adam asks him to let Roland Schürk die when the latter is in the hands of Peter Lausch, a psychopathic killer. He'd just have to wait; nobody would ever know that they were there to save him. Leo shoots Lausch in time.

Esther Baumann

Actress: Brigitte Urhausen

Tropes

• Action Girl: The shortest of the team, but she can run, shoot and throw punches just as good as everyone else.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Brunette, and not exactly the warmest or most approachable person around.
• Bilingual Bonus: Speaks a decent enough French to talk to a witness in "Der Herr des Waldes".
• The Bully: Starts out as this toward Leo, but after he calls her out on the fact that she wasn't there to witness what she's reproaching him off, namely that he didn't fire his gun to protect a colleague, and hence doesn't know why he was acting that way, she comes off it.
• Establishing Character Moment: Her first few seconds on-screen are her making a snide remark to Leo.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Snarks and snaps at everyone, has a pretty stern idea of good police conduct. Turns out to be fiercely loyal to her team and dedicated to justice.
• Only Sane Woman: Very analytical, very aware of the law — and the one to enforce it while the others are driven by their emotions and might get in trouble for it. Sometimes comes across as a bit of a stern Team Mom because of this.
• Smug Smiler: She even does it on request to intimidate suspects, but her colleagues are not exempt from being on the receiving end of this, either.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: More in looks than anything else, but where Pia opts for an athletic look, Esther is the type for silk blouses, nice jackets, and discreet jewelry.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: She and Adam begin their interactions by snapping at each other... and then just keep doing that, even long after they've become friends.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Leo gets angry with her because she had the police follow him to arrest Adam when Leo went to talk to him in secret — and Esther tears him a new one because he kept his meeting with Adam, a wanted criminal at the time, a secret in the first place.

Pia Heinrich

Actress: Ines Marie Westernströer

Tropes

• Action Girl: Kicks down doors, hunts down criminals, the whole package.
• Affectionate Nickname: Esther calls her "sweetie" on one occasion.
• Beautiful Dreamer: Subverted. She seems immune to that in "Das fleißige Lieschen" when she finds Leo and Adam who have fallen asleep over files in the office; Pia smiles — and then slams the door to wake them up. Gets payed back in "Das Herz der Schlange" when Esther wakes her up in a similar scenario by chucking a paper ball at her.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Subverted. She looks rather worse for wear in "Das Herz der Schlange" after hardly getting any sleep for several nights.
• Deadpan Snarker: Like everyone else on the team, although she's considerably friendlier after getting over the first hiccups of the team in their first episode together.
• Determinator: Once Pia gets onto an investigation, she'll search through archives for nights on end.
• A Friend in Need: Toward Adam when he gets arrested and needs the team's help to prove his innocence.
• Must Have Caffeine: Mostly in "Das Herz der Schlange" — granted, she's been running on zero sleep for days on end.
• The Smart Guy: Does most of the tedious research work because she doesn't easily overlook anything, quick on drawing conclusions, sometimes veers into Miss Exposition.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: More in looks than anything else, but with Tomboyish Ponytail, sports jackets, jumpers and jeans, she has the looks of a tomboy in comparison to Esther's more elegant style.
• Took a Level in Kindness: By the end of "Das fleißige Lieschen", she begins to let loose on bullying Leo over his past failure, and as she warms up to Adam, too, her behavior is much nicer overall.
• True Companions: By the third episode, she clearly considers the team this, getting angry at Leo when he's initially not honest about what Adam has been up to, but also fighting tooth and nail to prove her colleague's innocence of a murder.
• What the Hell, Hero?: She's not exactly happy in "Das Herz der Schlange" when she learns that Leo has been working with Adam behind her and Esther's back, seeing as that could get all of them in trouble.

Roland Schürk

Actor: Torsten Michaelis

Tropes

• Abusive Parents: Began in Adam's childhood and continues to abuse him as an adult — since he doesn't have the physical strength to beat him anymore, he's settled for manipulative power plays, enjoying how it upsets and emotionally wrecks Adam to be at his father's mercy again.
• Bank Robbery: The reason for his wealth.
• Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off!: Used both his hands and his belt to beat his son.
• Suicide, Not Murder: Deliberately sets up his own suicide to make it look like Adam murdered him.

Tatort Stuttgart

Thorsten Lannert

Actor: Richy Müller

Tropes:

• Age-Gap Romance: Played with, but ultimately subverted. His neighbor Lona, some twenty-odd years younger than him, is obviously interested in him, but Thorsten, while he does like her, doesn't want to enter a relationship with her because, as he says, he "ha[s] already lived a life".
• Beware the Quiet Ones: He keeps mostly quiet if his job doesn't require him to talk, but if he's sufficiently pissed off, he can be rather devastating. Also an absolute crack shot and not even remotely intimidated by someone holding a gun to his head.
• Cool Car: His 1974's Porsche 911, a beauty of a vintage car and really fast to boot.
• Dark and Troubled Past: His wife Susanne and his daughter Lilli were killed in a car accident right before his eyes — which Thorsten feels responsible for because his daughter ran onto the street trying to get to him. He was undercover attempting to blow up an influential weapons dealer who sat next to him in that moment, and thus didn't react to his daughter's calls.
  • Also, whatever was up with his childhood.
    Emilia Alvarez: *about current case* Do you feel guilty, Herr Lannert?
    Thorsten: Ever since early childhood.
• Deadpan Snarker: It's how he faces the Southern-German humor of his colleagues.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Goes from a slightly condescending attitude towards his younger colleague and hardly ever admitting anything personal about himself to Sebastian's best friend.
• Determinator: Gets him into heaps of trouble in "Im gelobten Land", but it's made him a great inspector.
• Feeling Their Age: Complains about this occasionally in more recent episodes, although "Der rote Schatten" reveals that he's afraid of the void that might come with retirement.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Sebastian are pretty much this anyway, and after Sebastian's divorce, he becomes his main social contact for good — and has to serve as a Living Emotional Crutch for a good while, too.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Not constantly, but he can get pretty icy.
• I Work Alone: When he and Sebastian part on rather cold terms after a bad conflict in "Preis des Lebens", the next episode "Im gelobten Land" has Thorsten going off to investigate on his own. Cue him acquiring a knife wound and being taken hostage by a pair of very desperate criminals.
• Must Have Caffeine: It has become something of a Running Gag that he and Sebastian constantly bring each other coffee.
• My Greatest Failure: Inadvertently causing the death of his wife and daughter because he was caught up in his undercover investigation.
  • "Im gelobten Land" adds another reason for his self-loathing: Unknowingly letting 23 fugitives suffocate in their hiding place — the autopsy reveals that they died while Thorsten and colleagues were already around, but they didn't search the place for hours because they were waiting for the smugglers to come back and get what they thought were hidden drugs.
• Mysterious Past: Initially. We get a bit more about him in "Tödliche Tarnung".
• Not So Stoic: See "Scherbenhaufen" and "Preis des Lebens"; the one thing that makes him lose his nonchalance is Sebastian getting into danger.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: The older to Sebastian's younger — although the age gap is downplayed since Thorsten is a fair bit younger than his young-looking actor.
• Papa Wolf: His own daughter is dead, but "Hart an der Grenze", "Die Unsichtbare" and "Happy Birthday, Sarah" show him as very protective of the children who get wrapped up in his cases. Also, sort of a second father figure to Sebastian's children; he fights tooth and nail for Maja's life in "Preis des Lebens".
• Parental Issues: He mentions not having a good relationship to his father, leaving home at age 16.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Will in doubt rather ignore a rule than risk a person's life; established in his very first episode "Hart an der Grenze" when he crosses a state border on foot to get an abducted child back.
• Technologically Blind Elders: Zig-Zagged; he has no trouble recognizing a very advanced A.I. in "HAL" but has never heard of reverse image search in "Das ist unser Haus".
• That One Case: "Tödliche Tarnung" brings him into contact with Victor de Man again, the weapons dealer against whom he investigated undercover for years, who tried to have him shot and whom Thorsten couldn't arrest then. This time, de Man doesn't get away, but Thorsten has to deal with him again years later in "Spiel auf Zeit".
• Tin Man: Usually appears as quite aloof, but when he gets angry, he gets really angry. Also, more than once proves adept in empathizing with and talking down someone going through a breakdown.
• Trauma Conga Line: Phew, where to start? He was mostly separated from his family for years to investigate undercover, living among and working with weapons dealers who he knew would kill him if they got the faintest idea who he was, then his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash before his eyes, he blew his cover in the process and promptly got a killer sicced on him. He survived the bullet in his chest, but all of this has taken an obvious toll on him; he's extremely shaken whenever he's confronted with his past.
• The Unapologetic: Saying "sorry" is apparently too much for him — after he's been unnecessarily rude to Nika in "Das Mädchen Galina", he uses the first opportunity to say "thank you" for her efforts in the investigations, but he doesn't apologize. Repeated after an argument with Sebastian in "Eine Frage des Gewissens".
• What the Hell, Hero?: Delivers a scathing one to Sebastian in "Eine Frage des Gewissens", both for lying before a judicial hearing and for his crash into self-neglect and alcoholism.
• When He Smiles: Thorsten mostly emotes with his eyes, courtesy of his actor, and his rare genuine smiles have been dubbed "millimeter smile" in parts of the German fandom because they consist only of a tiny motion of the corners of his mouth — but it's exactly that sort of smile that has the most impact.

Sebastian Bootz

Actor: Felix Klare

Tropes:

• Action Dad: Every bit as fit and as much of a crack shot as he needs to be, and father of a girl, Maja, and a boy, Henri.
• Awful Wedded Life: Seems like it, on occasion. Hardly an episode passes without his wife Julia starting an argument related to his job. Eventually results in their divorce.
• By-the-Book Cop: Gets him to clash a few times with Thorsten in the beginning. He later loosens up a bit — and then fully abandons it, giving a false statement before a committee to protect Thorsten (which wasn't actually needed since Thorsten's actions were appropriate, but Sebastian didn't witness that).
• Darkest Hour: In "Preis des Lebens", his daughter gets abducted. Sebastian hasn't been in a good state before that, due to his divorce, but that makes him break down entirely.
• Defective Detective: Not initially, but an ugly divorce and his daughter getting kidnapped did quite a number on the formerly sweet and fun-loving Sebastian who winds up irascible, cagey and drinking too much.
• Determinator: To an unhealthy degree.
• Do You Trust Me?: On their first case together, "Hart an der Grenze", Thorsten asks him to tag along in a breach of state authority to save a kidnapped child, derisive of Sebastian's compliance with rules. Sebastian mutters "asshole" under his breath — and then follows him nonetheless.
• Drowning My Sorrows: For quite a while after his divorce. He eventually gets better, but the whole thing has left him short-tempered and jaded.
• Fair Cop: Started out as a Pretty Boy and matured nicely. The sheer number of flirty side glances and hit-ons Sebastian has collected over the years speaks for itself. To his credit, the only time he ever seemed amenable to that was well after his divorce and when he'd been drugged; other than that, he's professional about suspects and witnesses.
• Friend to All Children: Sebastian is a dad, and it shows. Even during high-stress situations, he's endlessly patient with and extremely protective of every child he encounters during his cases; harming a child is a foolproof way to piss him off, and as to his own children — they don't even seem to know that their father has an alcohol problem and depressions for several years because he keeps treating them perfectly well.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Not that he and Thorsten weren't close already, but with Sebastian's divorce, it becomes pretty much a codependence.
• Iconic Outfit: The leather jacket with the black dragon emblem on the back.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Thorsten is seventeen years older than him and his best friend and most important emotional support.
• Mr. Fanservice: We do see a fair bit more skin from him than from other inspectors. Namely, "Scherbenhaufen" and "Hüter der Schwelle" give him the opportunity to run around shirtless, and there's the enforced striptease at a public train station in "Du allein".
• Must Have Caffeine: It has become something of a Running Gag that he and Thorsten constantly bring each other coffee.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Delivers a spectacular one to a criminal in "Spiel auf Zeit"; the guy admittedly attacked him, but Sebastian just won't stop beating him anymore. Thorsten is understandably alarmed by his lashing-out.
• My Greatest Failure: Failing his marriage, as he was not able to hold his family together, and not being able to protect his daughter.
• Old Cop, Young Cop: Downplayed, but he's the relatively young cop to Thorsten's relatively old cop.
• Papa Wolf: Willing to put a gun against his own head and pull the trigger if it means his daughter will be let go. Luckily, it wasn't loaded. He also gets incredibly pissed with the guy in "Die Unsichtbare" who endangered two children.
• Parents as People: After his divorce and with his kids growing up, he feels increasingly disconnected from them and struggles to still spend time with them when the jobs eats him up. On the other hand, they never even noticed his time as The Alcoholic because he never mistreated them while fighting his personal demons.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Yes, yes, and yes. Doubles as Tall, Dark, and Snarky.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: After the Trauma Conga Line he went through between "Spiel auf Zeit" und "Im gelobten Land", though he's calming down a bit again in more recent episodes; he's implied to finally get some therapy.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In "Die Unsichtbare", he chews Thorsten out for going behind his back to protect an illegal immigrant from getting expelled, although it's not the minor breach of law he minds but Thorsten's apparent lack of trust in him. Comes up with a much worse one in "Preis des Lebens", blaming Thorsten for getting Sebastian's abducted daughter Maja into danger because Thorsten informed the police against Sebastian's wishes.
• What You Are in the Dark: After all the time of sticking to the rules, he lies to a judicial hearing in a sworn statement in "Eine Frage des Gewissens" because he's afraid Thorsten might get charged for negligent manslaughter. He gets away with it, but Thorsten did in fact act correctly in the given situation and is not happy when Sebastian admits the lie to him.
• Undercover Cop Reveal: Near the end of "Scherbenhaufen", attempting to get the murderer to give up — unfortunately, the guy doesn't believe him and begins to chase Sebastian with a gun.

Emilia Alvarez

Actress: Carolina Vera

Tropes:

• Desk Jockey: If there's an application to make or any kind of authorization needed, Alvarez will handle it.
• Dude Magnet: She makes it work in her favor, although it also annoys her when she's not taken seriously as ADA.
• Hello, Attorney!: Prosecutor and a real beauty who's often heard arguing in Spanish with her current boyfriend on the phone and gets roses sent to her office, not to mention the number of suspects who hit on her and an Ignored Enamored Underling. On one occasion, she exploits an opposing lawyer's attraction to her to get needed information in time.
• Mrs. Robinson: Both "HAL" and "Der rote Schatten" establish her flirting with or dating a man visibly younger than her.
• Proud Beauty: Pretty damn gorgeous, and she dresses to underline it.
• Put on a Bus: Via promotion after "Du allein".
• Reasonable Authority Figure: A much-needed cool voice of reason when Thorsten or Sebastian want to ride roughshod over the law for the sake of their investigations.
• Spicy Latina: Her temperament and use of Spanish point to this trope.
• You Owe Me: Brings this up to Sebastian and Thorsten when she has to bend over backwards again to get them some warrant for a shaky case, although she rarely seems to claim her due.

Nika Banovic

Actress: Mimi Fiedler

Tropes:

• Desk Jockey: Despite being indeed capable of partaking in police action on-site, she's mostly seen behind her desk buried in files and deadset on her computer research.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Sometimes gets fed up with the inspectors as they load a lot of the tedious research work off on her but don't seem to appreciate all the effort she puts into it. In "Das Mädchen Galina", Thorsten chews her out for having missed a clue, sending her into tears.
• Faux Action Girl: Established as very much participating in police missions in the first episode, but we rarely see her in action later.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Every research she starts will turn up useful results, she can identify any sort of crime traces, and nothing computer-related is too much for her. Often underappreciated.
• Love Makes You Dumb: In "Das erste Opfer", crushing on the new software guy in the archive prompts her to give him way more information about the current case than she has permission to uncover. Turns out he's involved in it.
• Put on a Bus: After "Der Mann, der lügt".
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: In "Das Mädchen Galina", she gets close to Minko, the brother of their Victim of the Week, and is not happy when he's (albeit briefly) a suspect for the murder.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Not all the time, but she usually has them on when she's working on the computer or reading through files.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: Her mode of communication with Thorsten.

Dr. Daniel Vogt

Actor: Jürgen Hartmann

Tropes:

• All Love Is Unrequited: Has a pretty blatant crush on Nika, but she isn't interested.
• Attention Whore: Little bit; he loves to disclose in great detail the exact condition of the Victim of the Week and gets miffed when he's cut short or ignored.
• Creepy Mortician: He claims the dead talk to him (not literally, obviously; he means "the language of the dead" as the right way to read a corpse) and seems to enjoy showing the inspectors the gruesome details of someone's cause of death.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Every time Nika indicates interest in some guy. He's extremely obvious and extremely ungracious about it.
• No Social Skills: Not extremely so, but he can be uncomfortably blunt.
• Seen It All: Whatever the current corpse was done to, it probably doesn't surprise or shock him.
• Talking to the Dead: Every now and then.

Tatort Weimar

Kira Dorn

Actress: Nora Tschirner

Tropes:

• Action Mom: Once her kid is born; she often asks her mother to babysit her son because the police job takes up so much of her time.
• Attempted Rape: In "Der kalte Fritte"; it's one of the rare occasions the usually very self-reliant Kira needs Lessing to come to her rescue.
• Battle Couple: Lessing and she made a baby, then he moved to Weimar, they became partners at work, then married.
• Brutal Honesty: Doesn't mince her words, no matter whom she might insult.
• Deadpan Snarker: Towards suspects, insufferable superiors, colleagues... but most of all Lessing. Even her marriage proposal to him, while genuine in its intention, is not free of snark.
  Kira: Lessing, do you want to be my wife?
• Happily Married: To Lessing; they're a rare example of a stable relationship among Tatort inspectors.
• Heroic BSoD: Goes through a severe one in "Der feine Geist" when her husband is killed, something about which she is in iron denial for days, to the point that she hallucinates having more than one Dead Person Conversation with him, disturbing everyone around with her reality-detached behavior. For the last third of the episode, she behaves much like a Shell-Shocked Veteran.
• Hidden Depths: "Der höllische Heinz" reveals that she can both ride and sing.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Lessing's mother is not thrilled with her; all the more relieved is Kira when the former cancels her visit.
• Pregnant Badass: She begins her appearances in the series heavily pregnant and insists on doing her job, including shootings and hostage-takings, up to the moment when she'll go into labor.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Breaks her husband out of prison in "Die harte Kern" and takes him along to prove his innocence.
• Secret Relationship: She and Lessing, initially, because their boss doesn't approve of Office Romance. Soon becomes an Open Secret though.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Pretty crude, usually countered with an admonishing "Frau Dorn" from Lessing.
• Vomiting Cop: Played with. She does throw up in "Der treue Roy", but not because of a gruesome crime scene — it's a Stress Vomit after a criminal (who already has a bullet stuck in his own head) tried to shoot her (with a gun that turned out to be not loaded) because she refused to bring him to her husband so he could shoot him. The guy runs away after that, but the whole thing has put Kira badly through the wringer.

Lessing

Actor: Christian Ulmen

Tropes:

• Action Dad: Police inspector up and ready to brawl and shoot if necessary, just like his wife, and the father of her son.
• Gentleman Snarker: He's well-read and always strives to appear a bit more dignified than Kira, but his humor is just as wry.
• Battle Couple: He and his professional partner Kira Dorn who's also his wife.
• Character Death: In "Der feine Geist".
• Establishing Character Moment: Arrives in Weimar in the first few minutes of "Die fette Hoppe" with his new colleagues knowing that he had a burnout in Hamburg and isn't overly resilient at the moment — first thing he does is intervene in a hostage-taking and rescue a pregnant woman. Turns out to be a police training unit though.
• Good Parents: While the job takes up a lot of his and Kira's time, he puts great value on setting up the bedroom for their son, celebrating his birthdays (even when the kid is two and won't care) and making sure with the kindergarten teacher that the boy is developing well.
• Happily Married: To Kira; they're a rare example of a stable relationship among Tatort inspectors.
• Heroic BSoD: In "Der kalte Fritte", he thinks for a brief minute that Kira was killed in an explosion — it puts him on the brink of shooting the man responsible.
• Insufferable Genius: Tries to come across as a highly educated character, but most people are not impressed with his learnings.
• Interrupted Intimacy: A running gag throughout "Der wüste Gobi"; he and Kira can't seem to get more than a few minutes for themselves without getting called in on the case.
• Only One Name: We never learn his first name, not even after his death. His wife, while using "du" to address him (informal German "you"), still calls him Lessing.
• Secret Relationship: He and Kira, initially, because their boss doesn't approve of Office Romance. Soon becomes an Open Secret though.
• Turn in Your Badge: And put into prison to boot, accused of being a Dirty Cop and having shot someone in "Die harte Kern". Luckily, the charge doesn't hold up.

Kurt Stich

Actor: Thorsten Merten

Tropes:

• Benevolent Boss: Sometimes bordering on The Alleged Boss because he often takes Kira's and Lessing's approach on the investigations and just gives his okay. It's fine though; he's always open for suggestions and reasonable enough to know that the two of them have excellent instincts.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Keeps the eccentric Lupo around as one of his officers so he can keep an eye on him.
• Cowboy Cop: Not extremely; he lets Lessing and Kira get away with a few breaches of guidelines so they can do a good job, and he turns a blind eye to all of his officers honoring the tradition of collectively spitting into the coffee machine when a member of the unpopular federal police comes to them. Then there's "Die harte Kern" when he lets Lessing escape from prison, and "Der feine Geist" in which he leaves a vengeful Kira alone with the murderer of her husband, giving her the opportunity to kill her with no witnesses. Luckily, Kira doesn't go through with it.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: For someone who doesn't really get into action himself and can't show off with great fighting skills, he keeps a remarkably cool head in situations of crisis.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Somewhat downplayed as he only ever got arrested for telling a joke the regime didn't like and was fully rehabilitated after the end of the GDR, but a few years in a Stasi prison are not exactly fun.
• A Father to His Men: Approachable and very protective of his officers when it comes down to it.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Eva Kern in "Die harte Kern", his former colleague and potential Love Interest, snaps at him that this was something she always disliked about him.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Comparatively hands-off, but he does a good job managing his team on a large scale and dealing with authorities.

Ludwig "Lupo" Maria Pohl

Actor: Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey

Tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer: To Kira, who ignores his advances or rolls his eyes at him at best. He never seems to catch on to her being off the market even though he knows she's married.
• Butt-Monkey: Having zero self-awareness often gets him into trouble.
• The Ditz: And entirely Ignorant of His Own Ignorance, too, as he thinks himself very bright.
• Hollywood Psych: Lupo lives far-off from reality, doesn't seem to get a grip on social norms, and has some really strange mannerisms. Everyone agrees that he's kind of a nutcase, but nobody ever puts a label on that.
• Horrible Judge of Character: In "Die harte Kern", he has no idea that his new girlfriend just takes advantage of him.
• Karma Houdini: Takes his boss as a hostage and shoots him in the foot in "Der scheidende Schupo", and somehow gets reinstated as police officer until the next episode.
• Manchild: Everyone agrees that it's better to keep Lupo busy than to give him a task of any importance because if he takes anything personally or seriously, he'll mess it up for everyone else without understanding what he did wrong.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: All the time, not that he'd know.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: With his girlfriend in "Die harte Kern".

Tatort Vienna

Moritz Eisner

Actor: Harald Krassnitzer

Tropes:

• Action Dad: An inspector, and a pretty active one at that, who also has a daughter.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Both with Bibi and with his daughter Claudia; Moritz is just a bit of a cantankerous guy, but at the end of the day, he'll always look after either of them.
• By-the-Book Cop: One of the things that gets him at odds with Bibi; he's much more considerate and conscious of rules.
• Can't Take Criticism: Mostly because, with his success rate, he's not used to doing anything wrong.
• Cool Old Guy: Investigating in Tatort since 1999, but he's still fully up to action today and has solved so far every case he's come across.
• Dislikes the New Guy: He's not happy when Bibi joins his team. However, that's not because he's worked without a partner for such a long time, but because of her alcoholism — Moritz says he needs an assistant, not a wreck. Bibi does manage to get over her addiction though, and Moritz not only learns to trust her but also becomes her most important support.
• Jaded Professional: Tends to assume the worst of people until they prove themselves better.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A mild version; he's not really mean, just a bit cranky overall, and it never stops him from doing the right thing or taking care of his loved ones.
• Like an Old Married Couple: There's the endless arguing, but also a lot of casual affection between them, e. g. hugs, holding hands, Bibi kissing his hand or playfully pinching his butt in "Schock" when he's grouchy, which brightens him up.
• Must Have Caffeine: Not that he's a sunshine with coffee, but without it, he's unbearable.
• Parents as People: Overall, he has a good relationship with Claudia, his now-adult daughter from a divorced marriage, but they argue every now and then about Claudia's boyfriend whom he can't stand, or her studies, or her feeling patronized or his occasional attitude of When I Was Your Age... or whatever. Still, whenever Claudia is in need of help or a shoulder to cry on, she can rely on her father.
• Platonic Life-Partners: He and Bibi spend a lot of time sitting in either's apartment and talking, have a ton of trust in each other, rely on one another's support, are openly affectionate, but they actually don't date.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Rolls his eyes over Bibi's more idealistic judgements.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: In "Unvergessen" after he survives getting shot in the head.

Bibi Fellner

Actress: Adele Neuhauser

Tropes:

• Cool Car: A showy Pontiac Firebird that's actually the property of a friend of hers, "Inkasso-Heinzi"; she keeps the car while he's in prison. Moritz complains about both the look of the car and her driving style.
• Defective Detective: Initially; working in the vice squad has taken its toll on her. Different than most other Tatort inspectors, she actually gets better over time.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Dark blonde and a real sweetheart.
• Iconic Sequel Character: She only joined Moritz in 2011, but by now they are a sworn team.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Like with the car, she's taking care of "Inkasso-Heinzi's" cats while he serves a prison sentence.
• Odd Friendship: Nobody knows why she as a former vice squad is friends with "Inkasso-Heinzi", a pimp, but Bibi insists he's a decent guy.
• Parental Abandonment: Something she unpacks more recently with her therapist; her father left her to be Raised by Grandparents after her mother's death, and she hasn't been able to forgive him.
• Platonic Life-Partners: She and Moritz spend a lot of time sitting in either's apartment and talking, have a ton of trust in each other, rely on one another's support, are openly affectionate, but they actually don't date.
• Quirky Curls: Has a head full of curls and is a bit of a wild card who drives a flashy cabriolet and has more humor than her partner.
• Reckless Sidekick: Often just rushes ahead following her instincts, prompting Moritz to get angry with her carelessness.
• Recovered Addict: Started out as The Alcoholic, but after a few setbacks, she gets a grip on it. A very notable situation is in "Kein Entkommen", when Bibi and Moritz are put in a situation of extreme stress, including several colleagues getting killed and they themselves surviving a shooting just barely. After that, an upset Moritz pours both of them a strong drink. Bibi throws the content of her glass over his shirt.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Not an extreme version as she is aware of the law and trying to heed it, but this has gotten her into trouble a few times.
• Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Amazingly, she has retained an overall optimistic view on people.
• Smoking Is Cool: Well, not cool per se, but a sign of companionship between her and Moritz as they often stand together sharing a cigarette.
• Street Smart: Relies on her instincts, is a quick thinker, and can easily build a rapport with witnesses.
• Undercover as Lovers: She and Moritz play a married couple quite regularly on short-term if they don't disclose that they're police right from the beginning. With their behavior, one is very inclined to believe that.

---