Cologne P.D. (SOKO Köln)

ZDF, the German public broadcaster, airs the crime series SOKO Köln, known internationally as Cologne P.D. Its first episode aired on October 22, 2003. It is an offshoot of the series that began in 1978 as SOKO 5113 and later became SOKO München; sources call it the third or fourth spin-off. SOKO in the title abbreviates the German Sonderkommission, meaning a special investigative team.

Each episode follows a case solved by a special investigation unit working in Cologne. It has run for 22 seasons and 437 episodes of about 43 minutes each, though one source says 23 seasons have been made. The actress Nursel Köse, known in Turkey, is among the cast. Guests over the years have included Florentine Lahme, Rüdiger Vogler, Tom Beck, Jannis Niewöhner and Antje Traue.

In 2013 the franchise's Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Wismar teams joined forces in the five-part crossover SOKO – Der Prozess, investigating the murder of a police officer.