New "Tatort" detective Melika Foroutan: "It's an eternal torture to live like this"
The new Frankfurt "Tatort: Dunkelheit" with Melika Foroutan and Edin Hasanovic breaks with an age-old crime thriller tradition: the focus in their cases is no longer on the perpetrators, but on the victims. An interview.
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- Melika Foroutan and Edin Hasanovic are the new investigative duo in the Frankfurt "Tatort" and work on old cases from a basement, with the victim's perspective taking center stage.
- The new crime series deliberately focuses on social relevance, psychological depth and diversity, as both main characters have migration backgrounds, some of which are biographically inspired.
- Foroutan emphasizes that the concept is emotionally challenging as it deals with unresolved fates and the suffering of relatives - a theme that will remain in future episodes.
Melika Foroutan and Edin Hasanovic are the new Frankfurt investigators. Their debut "Tatort: Dunkelheit" (Sunday, October 5, 8.05 p.m., SRF1) breaks new ground in crime drama: The focus is no longer on the perpetrators, but on the victims.
This has to do with the fact that the detectives work meticulously on old cases and visit relatives to find out what might have happened. In doing so, they come quite close to the pain of the disappearance of loved ones, the uncertainty and senseless violence.
In an interview, cult actress Melika Foroutan ("KDD - Kriminaldauerdienst") talks about how she met her partner when he was twelve years old and why it's nice that both investigator roles have Persian and Bosnian roots like their actors.
Ms. Foroutan, you once said in an interview that you are not a big crime thriller fan. Yet you became known through the acclaimed series "KDD - Kriminaldauerdienst", and now you are a "Tatort" detective ...
Then there are other female detectives and public prosecutors in Germany and Austria that I have played or still play. Crime thrillers are a great preference, almost a lifeline for German-speaking audiences. There are over 40 hours of crime dramas a day on German television. The genre is popular and is produced on a correspondingly large scale. I have accepted the most exciting offers for me. If you interpret crime thrillers in a creative and socio-critical way, you can tell a lot about what's going on in the country. That's what "Tatort" stands for.
Were you offered the role directly or did you have to go through an audition?
No, it was different again. There is actually a classic casting call when a broadcaster like Hessischer Rundfunk wants to put together a new "Tatort" team. This is taken up by various production companies, who then give it some thought. They develop an idea of what they want to tell and with whom. Then they submit a classic application. The company Sommerhaus, with whom I'm already shooting "The Empress" for Netflix, came out on top with the cold case concept and the two investigator roles that Edin Hasanovic and I were supposed to play.
Do you know how many applications there were?
I heard that there were probably 16 concepts submitted. Our concept of working on cold cases in the cellar probably attracted a lot of interest straight away. It's also an idea that hasn't been seen in "Tatort" before.
Netflix recently launched the British series "Dept. Q", which is a remake of a Danish film series based on Jussi Adler-Olsen. There is also a cold case department investigating in the basement ...
I've only heard about it and also that they probably started in parallel with us. This basement idea doesn't have much to do with reality at first. The police work on old cases, but these are usually modern departments that are technically well equipped. It's not like there's a woman sitting alone in the cellar in real life. It was a dramaturgical decision by the producers and the two authors Erol Yesilkaya and Senad Halilbašić to stage the cold cases in "Tatort" in this way. It creates a mood, follows a dramaturgy and is visually interesting.
How would you describe this mood?
The character I play is not sitting at the top, with an open and wide view of the horizon. She has been transferred by her superior to a dark basement room, which she doesn't particularly like. She pursues the cases with great calm. But something is subliminally at work inside her that will inevitably make itself known to the outside world at some point. I liked the idea of the cellar. You can tell a lot through rooms, like in one of my favorite series "Mindhunter". It tells us something about the beginnings of forensics, and the cellar is used to make it clear how new the method is and is therefore still being neglected. The fact that psychology plays a role in serial murders was still a pretty wild idea up until the 1960s, and hardly any thought was given to it. Even the FBI struggled with it back then.
In fiction, it's often cranky people who sit in the cellar and rummage through old cases ...
(Laughs) In the beginning, we also thought about drawing the investigators a bit cranky. I'm glad we didn't do it. It would have been too much of a good thing. Basement and ratty - that's close to a cliché. Maryam Azadi, my character, is rather the opposite: she is social, philanthropic and collegial. Of course, our characters can develop over the course of the series. But we didn't want to overload it at the beginning and concentrate on the cases first. On the people who are involved.
Are you sticking to the principle of old cases in the next episodes?
We've shot three cases so far that remain true to the concept. Film two will be shown on the last Sunday in November. The fourth and fifth cases are currently in development. It looks like these stories will also follow the principle of old cases. We'll see what happens after that. We don't know whether people will like our team. Maybe after ten cases they won't be interested in us anymore. So I can't say whether the concept will stay like this forever. At the moment it feels good, right and new.
You have already filmed a crime series with Edin Hasanovic. The award-winning ZDF series "KDD", when he was still very young ...
When I met Edin there, he was twelve years old. It was the first season of "KDD". We filmed for four years and he was probably 16 at the end. He became a teenager in front of the camera. Today, Edin is one of the most sought-after actors in Germany. I wouldn't be surprised if he was also on the cast list of the other applicants for Hessischer Rundfunk's new "Tatort" concept. I'm therefore delighted that we can now do this together. Edin is a wonderful partner and a very funny, pleasant person. Someone who is always curious in the best sense of the word.
There's not much to laugh about in the first episode ...
No, it's not a funny crime scene, but a movie about the suffering experienced by the victims and the agony of the bereaved. But of course you can laugh in between when shooting such material. It is a quality that should not be underestimated when someone manages to find the right break in a depressing filming moment with a joke. It can lighten the mood so much that you can devote yourself much better to the serious stuff afterwards. Edin creates an incredibly good atmosphere between people because he is clever and empathetic. I really enjoy working with him.
Both investigators have an immigrant background. You play characters who have their roots in Iran and Bosnia, just like you and Edin Hasanovic. Was that also part of the original concept?
Yes, that was the concept. I was supposed to play an Iranian with a Bosnian. Parts of Edin's and my biographies overlap with those of our characters, even though we don't tell our own stories, of course. Nevertheless, the approach of linking our characters a little to our own lives is an experience box that we can draw on again and again. In "Tatort", we are not the first investigators with a migration background ...
But is there a duo with a dual migration background?
Maybe we're the first, but that's the reality in Germany in 2025. There are many police officers with a history of migration. In Germany's big cities and small towns, it's the norm and nothing special anymore, so why should it be any different on television? The background of our characters, in the first case it's mainly Edin's character, is told - but he's not at the center of the case. I also think this kind of normality is important in this day and age. Maybe people will find out a bit more about my character in the future.
Crime novels, especially those about serial offenders, are criticized for the fact that the perpetrators receive a lot of attention and the victims very little. It's different with you. There are very touching scenes involving the victims' relatives ...
It is in the nature of old cases that there are surviving relatives who have never received an answer to their questions about the death of loved ones. It is a stressful situation when you don't know what happened to your child, your partner or your parents. Imagine being in the dark for five, 20 or even 40 years. It is an eternal torment to live like that. The topic will remain in the next few cases - even if the suffering of the relatives is always the focus in different ways.
You've been an actress for a long time now. Does it still feel satisfying to have been chosen as a "Tatort" detective?
I've been working in this profession for 25 years, I'm regularly involved and very often work on projects that I actually find exciting. That's a very positive personal conclusion after a quarter of a century in the job (laughs). I've been very lucky, I know that. You need luck in professions where there are only a few places for a lot of talented and qualified applicants, and not everyone is given the same chance.
But does being a "Tatort" commissioner still feel special?
When the offer came, I called my sister first. I told her about it and asked if I should do it. She laughed out loud and was happy for me. She said: "How cool, you have to do it, then we'll be 'Tatort' now."
If you had to ask your sister, does that mean you seriously considered turning down the offer?
The thought of turning it down wasn't particularly strong. Nevertheless, after a certain age and with a lot of professional experience, you think about everything differently. It's also about making a commitment and entering into a longer commitment. When I make a new, intensive professional commitment, I have to sit down with the people I live with, in other words: I also discussed it with my husband and the rest of the family, because I'm a big family person. In the end, there were a lot of good wishes and a great desire on my part. I have good people around me at Sommerhaus, on set and at Hessischer Rundfunk who are interested in the stories Edin and I want to tell. Frankfurt is also a great city. I'm looking forward to everything that's to come.
