Lindenstraße

Lindenstraße is a German television series created by Hans W. Geißendörfer and produced by WDR together with Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion. Its first episode aired on Das Erste on 8 December 1985, and it is regarded as Germany's first soap opera, running weekly for a total of 1,758 episodes until the final broadcast on 29 March 2020. Geißendörfer wrote and directed the first 31 episodes, and the music was composed by Jürgen Knieper.

Although the story is set on a fictional street in Munich, filming took place at the WDR studios in Cologne-Bocklemünd. Inspired by Coronation Street, the series realistically portrays the everyday lives of ordinary people and became known for addressing sociopolitical themes such as homosexuality, right-wing extremism, AIDS and environmental issues. Despite mostly poor reviews at first, it soon became one of the most successful shows on German television. In November 2018 ARD decided on cost grounds not to renew the production contract, and the series ended in March 2020 after nearly 35 years.