"Tatort" drama in Dortmund: That's why Anna Schudt leaves the ARD crime thriller

Created: 02/20/2022, 21:45

By: Stefanie Thyssen

"It was very difficult for me to say goodbye to the Dortmund 'crime scene'," says actress Anna Schudt.

©ARD

Anna Schudt alias Martina Bönisch dies "crime scene" death.

Here she reveals the reasons for her exit from the ARD crime series.

Was that a typical woman?

Typical Bönisch?

Or typical Anna Schudt?

In any case, the actress, who has been lending her body, face and voice to her commissioner from the Dortmund "crime scene" since 2012, has made a departure that will go down in the history books of the ARD series: In recent years, no one has been so surprising and unannounced ) more gone.

A farewell without announcement!

And a furious finale of the Dortmund "Tatort" with Anna Schudt was offered to all viewers on February 20, 2022.

Most recently, Charly Hübner left the "Polizeiruf 110"

It was only a few weeks ago that the large fan base of the murder on Sunday evening had to digest Charly Hübner's exit from the Rostock "Polizeiruf 110".

The 49-year-old had not only carefully considered his decision, but announced it in advance and explained it in interviews.

Anna Schudt decided on the opposite: the bang without advance press.

And even at WDR, which is responsible for the Dortmund "crime scenes", people were a bit surprised (and proud) that the mission with a secret end was carried through to the end.

Now, however, millions of viewers know it: Anna Schudt is breaking up – and as definitively as possible: Her character Martina Bönisch died in “Tatort” – after 22 missions in the ARD cult series, shot at the end of the episode entitled "Love Me".

The relationship between Martina Bönisch (Anna Schudt) and Haller (Tilman Strauß) escalated Schudt's last "crime scene" episode.

©ARD

Since the first case in 2012, Anna Schudt, alias Martina Bönisch, has been an integral part of the four-person WDR team.

"It was very difficult for me to say goodbye to the Dortmund 'crime scene'," explains the actress, who learned her craft at the Otto Falckenberg School in Munich, when asked by our newspaper.

Because in contrast to the often tense working atmosphere in the Dortmund homicide squad, every shoot felt almost "like a familiar family reunion".

Anna Schudt: “Playing Martina Bönisch has taken a big place in my heart.

But I think that after 22 intense missions from the tough commissioner, with all her strengths and weaknesses, it is now time to say goodbye.”

This is how it all started: Anna Schudt and Jörg Hartmann ten years ago.

Apparently they had fun at the "crime scene".

© WDR

For the 47-year-old, who is married to her acting colleague Moritz Führmann and is the mother of three sons, there is room for something new that she is very much looking forward to.

From now on, as a spectator, she will follow with interest how things will continue with Faber without Bönisch and the Dortmund team.

This is how Faber will continue without Martina Bönisch

That's the most exciting question: What's next without Martina Bönisch?

What will become of Commissioner Faber, played so wonderfully by Jörg Hartmann?

Faber and Bönisch had a special relationship right from the start, one that carried every conceivable emotion with it.

When asked by our newspaper, editor Frank Tönsmann explains: "After the death of Martina Bönisch, Faber, Herzog and Pawlak will investigate together for the time being." Martina Bönisch (and Anna Schudt) cannot be replaced 1:1.

Tönsmann does not want to anticipate exactly how Faber will deal with the death of his colleague.

Of course it will have an impact.

But Jörg Hartmann's commitment is as great as ever.

"I can assure you that the character of Peter Faber is and will remain an integral part of 'Tatort' Dortmund."

Thank you, Anna Schudt!

In addition to the bulky Faber, all that remains is the memory of a really good detective, played by an even better actress.

Alexander Bickel, head of the WDR program area fiction, puts it in a nutshell: "In the rarely comfortable and actually never comfortable world of the 'crime scene' in Dortmund, Anna Schudt and her Martina Bönisch embody something like the promise that in the end crime will happen not worth it, but decency.” We owe her the greatest thanks for the creativity and energy that Anna Schudt gave the team and for the many hours of touching, highly exciting and highly authentic crime thriller entertainment.

"We say goodbye with a heavy heart, but with great solidarity."