Die Kommissarin(1994)

Die Kommissarin is a German police series that aired on Das Erste from 1994 to 2006, spanning 66 episodes. Set in Frankfurt am Main, it broke ground as one of Germany's first commercially successful detective dramas centred on a female lead. Inspector Lea Sommer, played by Hannelore Elsner, juggles her career with single parenthood—her teenage son Daniel lives with her—while navigating a long-distance relationship with her unseen boyfriend Jonathan. Early in the series, Sommer's original partner Nick Siegel is killed by an escaping criminal, leaving her to work alongside officer Jan Orlop. The show balances procedural crime-solving with Sommer's personal struggles, establishing itself as a landmark entry in German television drama.