Cologne P.D. (SOKO Köln)

“SOKO Köln” is a German-language police procedural produced for the public broadcaster ZDF, first broadcast on 22 October 2003. It is a spin-off of the SOKO franchise, which began in 1978 as “SOKO 5113”, and follows the cases of a special investigation unit based in Cologne; “SOKO” abbreviates the German word “Sonderkommission”, meaning special investigative team.

Known internationally as “Cologne P.D.” and in France as “Division criminelle”, the series has reached 22 seasons and 437 episodes according to records, with episodes running about 43 minutes. In 2013 the franchise produced the five-part crossover special “SOKO – Der Prozess”, in which the Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Wismar teams jointly investigated the murder of a police officer. Turkish actress Nursel Köse is among the series' cast members.