Before the days of streaming all day every day, television offered a special connection with its audience. Whereas films are an occasional commitment of a couple of hours, television shows are a weekly part of life. The characters and settings become personal. And with TV shows set in Munich and across Bavaria, you truly get to experience the region in a new way.
You can be entertained with a humorous take on everyday life or become immersed in a local crime series. There are options for whatever strikes your fancy.
If you speak German, the options are seemingly endless. But thanks to today’s connected world, many streaming services offer English language subtitles for shows.
Sit back and get ready to binge Bavarian style with these 16 TV shows set in Munich and across Bavaria! (If films are more your style, try 13 Great Movies Filmed in Munich & Bavaria.)
TV Shows Set in Munich
This first group features TV shows set in Munich. Regardless of whether each show is a comedy or a drama, the city provides a backdrop for the action. Many times this means “big city” problems or concerns.
Monaco Franze – Der ewige Stenz
Monaco Franze is certainly one of Munich’s most famous fictional sons. In the early 1980s, filmmaker Helmut Dietl (a famous Münchener himself) created a 10-episode series called Monaco Franze – Der ewige Stenz.
The show stars Helmut Fischer in the title role of Franze, a detective forced into retirement but not ready to give up the game just yet. He has a lot of plates in the air; if he isn’t pursuing criminals, he’s chasing the ladies, or appeasing his long-suffering culture-loving wife.
As it is one of the TV shows set in Munich, it isn’t surprising to see so many of the city’s most popular locations as settings. There is a passion for Munich. It is full of humor but there is some good drama, too. Even decades later, the series is still quite beloved. In fact, there’s a statue of Fischer as Franze in Münchner Freiheit.
Servus Baby
Often compared to Sex and the City, Servus Baby is to Munich what the American show is to New York City. The series follows four 30-something female friends through the trials and tribulations of love, relationships, and emotions that are life.
The award-winning show aired its second season in the fall of 2020.
Watch Servus Baby at Bayerischer Rundfunk or stream with Amazon Prime Germany.
SOKO München
There is no shortage of police and crime TV shows set in Munich. Before ending in 2020 after more than 40 years on air, SOKO München was part of the popular SOKO series of crime shows set across the German-speaking world.
Each episode of the show follows a special investigation team in Munich as they pursue a range of crimes and criminals.
Watch SOKO München at ZDF or stream with Amazon Prime Germany.
Lindenstraße
Lindenstraße was a weekly German soap that ran from 1985 until 2020 that was based on the English soap Coronation Street.
Over nearly 2000 episodes, viewers got to know a group of families who are all neighbors on a fictional street in Munich. The show has garnered attention for continually tackling difficult current events and societal topics from homosexuality to racism.
Buy Lindenstraße on Amazon, watch at Das Erste, or stream with Amazon Prime Germany.
Tatort: Munich
Tatort is a German television institution. Each week, viewers tune in to see a crime show set in a different German city. The Tatort: Munich subset of shows features the crime-fighting team of Batic and Leitmayr, a Croatian detective and a Munich detective. The pair have been fighting crime since the early 1990s. And in 2025, after 100 episodes, the duo will be retiring from crime fighting.
The show has a long and storied history. For example, for more than a decade, Helmut Fischer aka Monaco Franze served as a detective on the Munich Tatort episodes. Part of what keeps viewers tuning in is seeing their city as the setting for the riveting crime.
Buy Tatort: Munich on Amazon, watch at Das Erste or stream with Amazon Prime Germany.
Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood
Netflix tapped into Munich’s most famous export—beer—with the 2020 show Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood.
Set at the turn of the 20th century, the show portrays the power struggle between rival brewery families. It’s a dark, gritty tale of greed, business, and family drama.
Martina Gedeck is among the show’s cast.
Watch Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood on Netflix.
Die Chefin
Since 2012, Die Chefin has followed Munich police chief inspector Vera Lanz, played by Katharina Böhm. As a widowed mother, Lanz faces the challenge of raising her daughter while solving crimes and leading her team.
Buy Die Chefin on Amazon or watch on ZDF.
München 7
Breaking away from the standard “dark and brooding” crime show, München 7 mixes humor with crime-solving.
Set in Munich’s downtown area, officers Bartl and Kandler solve petty crimes while navigating the lively atmosphere of places like Marienplatz and Viktualienmarkt. It features famous faces like comedy actress Monika Gruber, who was a regular, as well as former mayor Christian Ude.
Buy München 7 on Amazon or watch on Das Erste.
TV Shows Set in Bavaria
Get ready to experience small-town life with these TV shows set in Bavaria. While they aren’t always completely authentic, there is definitely a different pace of life when compared to the TV shows set in Munich.
Dahoam is Dahoam
Set in the fictional village of Lansing, this soap opera showcases everyday Bavarian life. The show, which is performed in Bavarian dialect, revolves around families that run local businesses like breweries and restaurants.
Buy Dahoam is Dahoam on Amazon or watch on BR.
Die Rosenheim Cops
Not far from Munich, the town of Rosenheim plays host to the comedy crime show Die Rosenheim Cops. The premise is that a born and bred Bavarian investigator solves crimes with his team in this idyllic small-town setting.
The show is filmed in and around the town and is so popular that Rosenheim offers tours of filming locations.
Rosenheim Cops on Amazon or watch at ZDF.
Der Bulle von Tölz
Set deep in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz, Der Bulle von Tölz is another popular comedy meets crime show. And on this show, the emphasis is more on “comedy” than on “crime.”
Der Bulle, that is “the cop,” is Hauptkommissar Benno Berghammer, a single middle-aged man living with and being cared for by his widowed mother.
Buy Der Bulle von Tölz on Amazon or stream on Amazon Prime Germany.
Monty Python’s Fliegender Zirkus
You might be doing a double-take, but it’s true! Monty Python made TV shows set in Munich and Bavaria. In 1972, two comedy specials from the English comedy troupe Monty Python were aired on West German television. Filmed primarily in Bavaria in both English and in German, the two specials are something else.
These aren’t merely translations of old sketches. There are new sketches as well as cultural tweaks (such as the use of famous Germans like Albrecht Dürer and Franz Beckenbauer) and adaptations to old favorites. Eagle-eyed viewers will also recognize Schloss Nymphenburg as well as Neuschwanstein, the latter being rather prominently featured.
Hubert und Staller
Wolfratshausen has its own comedy cop show, but its title can vary. Originally, it was titled Heiter bis tödlich: Hubert und Staller but then that was shortened to Hubert und Staller. But since 2019, it is now Hubert ohne Staller after one-half of the title (Staller) exited the show.
On the show, Polizeiobermeister Franz Hubert and his team pursue crimes around their Bavarian town. But they aren’t always the most serious of teams.
Hubert und Staller on Amazon or watch on Das Erste.
Kunst + Krempel
Of the TV shows set in Bavaria, this one is probably the most unique. Most of the shows I have highlighted in this article are comedy or crime shows. But Kunst und Krempel is very different.
On the show, Bavarians bring in items to be appraised and reviewed by experts. Think Antiques Roadshow where each episode is filmed in a different Bavarian city’s palace, museum, or monastery.
Buy Kunst + Krempel book on Amazon or watch on BR.
Sturm der Liebe
Set in a luxury hotel near Rosenheim, Sturm der Liebe is a popular German soap opera seen all over Europe. The show follows the owners and employees of the five-star Hotel Fürstenhof.
The show is largely filmed at Bavaria Filmstadt (which offers tours!). But, since this is one of the TV shows set in Bavaria it does, on occasion, shoot outdoors in locations across Bavaria.
Sturm der Liebe on Amazon or watch on Das Erste.
Tatort Franken
Like the Munich branch of the Tatort franchise, Tatort Franken offers a crime-fighting police show set in Nuremberg. Since 2015, detective chief inspectors Paul Ringelhahn (portrayed by Dagmar Manzel) and Felix Voss (portrayed by Fabian Hinrichs) and their police team have been keeping the Franconian region of Germany safe.
Watch Tatort Franken on Das Erste.
These TV shows set in Munich and across Bavaria offer a window into the region’s culture, humor, and heart. Whether you’re looking for crime, comedy, or small-town drama, there’s something for every taste.
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