Simon Huber

Across five episodes, this docuseries follows Germany’s top referees - Deniz Aytekin, Daniel Siebert, and more - through the 2022/23 season. From their Herzogenaurach training camp and the “Nagelsmann case” to Wolfsburg’s women’s record win and the DFB-Pokal final, viewers gain unprecedented access to on-field calls, Video Assistant exchanges from the “Köln Keller,” and the mental toll of public scrutiny.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has fundamentally changed the German-Russian relationship. This is especially a special topic for those people who grew up in the GDR. Because what the USA were to many in the west, the Soviet Union was to many in the east: “the big brother”. And now? The invasion of Ukraine by Russia calls old certainties into question, rocked convictions, and runs like a rift through families. In this film, the ARD journalist and host Jessy Wellmer embarks on a very personal journey through the east of Germany. Born in 1979 in Güstrow in Mecklenburg, the Russian war of aggression also caused intensive discussions in her family which ultimately were the cause for this film. How do the East Germans think with regard to Russia? Why is there often a greater deal of closeness to Russia here? And what does it say about the divide which still exists in the German populace more than 30 years after the fall of the wall?

On the occasion of the federal election on February 23, 2025, Jessy Wellmer and Ingo Zamperoni ask: What issues are Germans concerned about before this election, what is important to people? The two Tagesthemen presenters traveled around the country and spoke to citizens, experts and celebrities: about the economic crisis, migration and the shortage of skilled workers, the fear of war and the division of society. A representative survey commissioned for the documentary complements the personal attitudes and opinions.

For many fans, they simply belong together: football and beer. But is that really just a harmless connection of sport and pleasure? Because football clubs and breweries are often closely connected in Germany. Every club in the second and first division of the Bundesliga, without exception, is being sponsored by a brewery and also many amateur clubs are reliant on the money of the beer industry. And yet, alcohol causes great damage in Germany: 1.6 million people are addicted to alcohol, more than 14,000 die annually in direct consequence of alcohol consumption. This film corresponds to the state as of November 16th, 2022. At that point in time, Qatar had allowed the selling of alcohol in and around world cup stadiums before and after the games. A few days before the beginning of the World Cup, an alcohol ban was announced for these areas, nonetheless.