New documentary about the fascination with true crime

True crime stories are booming. Where does the interest in these formats come from? The "3satThema: Fascination True Crime" shows how it all began on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 20.15:XNUMX p.m.

The documentary film “This show is not a game – The uncanny world of Eduard Zimmermann” by Regina Schilling looks at the series “Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst” by Eduard Zimmermann – from 1967 until his last presentation in 1997.

Following this, at 9:45 pm, Vivian Perkovic will speak in the “3satThema Talk” with director Regina Schilling, former prison doctor and actor Joe Bausch, forensic psychiatrist Nahlah Saimeh and the head and voice of the Austrian podcast “Darf's ein bisserl Mord sein?” Franziska Singer.

That's what it's about

The documentary film “This show is not a game - The uncanny world of Eduard Zimmermann” (Germany 2023) tells how Zimmermann established the world's first true crime format on television in 1967 with the series “Aktenzeichen XY ... ungelöst” - and how it developed in the mirror of eventful contemporary history until his last presentation in 1997.

Regina Schilling has collected a wealth of material on criminal cases from 300 programs in the archive and classified it from her personal perspective: On the surface, the TV material tells of crime detection and prevention, of the people who became victims.

From the perspective of historical distance, the director arrives at a deeper conclusion: "Anyone who has started to look more closely will see how lasting Zimmermann's impact has been on us," says Schilling, who incorporates her memories of eerie TV evenings.

She also asks: “How many of the fears that the show triggered back then still concern us today – especially women?”

After her film “Kulenkampffs Schuhe”, in which she analyzed entertainment television in the post-war era, the director once again brings to life the images and worlds of TV from that time.

The documentary will be available for three weeks from the broadcast in the 3sat Mediathek and the ZDF Mediathek.

PR Agent / © Photo: ZDF