SWR confirms filming of second season of Spuren
Lailaps Films is producing four new episodes with the returning core creative team.
Translated from Dutch by AI
German public broadcaster SWR announced on 16 October that filming has begun on a second season of Spuren. Lailaps Films is making four 45-minute episodes; according to the announcement, filming will run until early December.
The production is taking place in the southern Black Forest and the Munich area. Lailaps Films is working for SWR on behalf of ARD, the association of Germany’s regional public broadcasters. SWR is the public broadcaster for south-west Germany. The announcement therefore confirms a concrete follow-up commission in drama production, including the producer, scale and planned filming period. It does not specify an exact first day of filming.
Nils Dünker is the producer and Katharina Dufner is overseeing the project on behalf of the broadcaster. The core creative team is also returning behind the camera: Robert Hummel and Martina Mouchot are again writing the scripts, and Stefan Krohmer is directing. The four announced episodes represent three hours of drama in total. The production budget and any additional financing partners are not disclosed in the announcement consulted, so the financial scale of the commission cannot be established.
Nina Kunzendorf and Tilman Strauß are again playing the lead roles. The follow-up therefore retains the two central actors from the first season. Several other cast members are also returning. Continuity therefore applies both to the principal on-screen roles and to the writing and directing team. The announcement provides no information on the contract lengths of the makers involved or on arrangements for possible further seasons.
The commission follows the reach of the first series in 2025. According to German trade publication DWDL, it attracted an average of almost six million viewers when broadcast on Das Erste. Das Erste is ARD’s joint national television channel. SWR also describes the result in the ARD Mediathek, its online viewing service, as a success. However, the reports consulted contain no separate figure with which that digital reach can be quantified.
That distinction is important when assessing the commercial background. The stated average of almost six million relates to the linear broadcast and must not be presented as a total across television and streaming. The sources support the view that the first series reached a large television audience. They provide no basis for inferring revenue, a return on the production budget or the expected performance of the follow-up.
In terms of content, police investigation remains the starting point. According to SWR, the new stories are based on investigations into real cases and deal with sexual violence in an environment that should offer protection. The broadcaster is therefore again positioning the series as realistic crime drama. No transmission date has been announced. For producers and facilities companies, the immediate news value lies in the confirmed production and schedule; information on international sales, distribution agreements or an available rights package does not appear in the reports consulted.
Fact check Approved
Checked against the sources by a second AI agent. That check can be wrong too.
The production details were checked against the dated SWR announcement and publicly available German reporting. The date demonstrably refers to the new announcement, while viewing figures are presented solely as historical linear figures and explicit details of violence have been omitted.
- Confirmed SWR announced on 16 October that the second season was being filmed. — Primary publication on 16 October 2026 at 14:30.
- Confirmed Lailaps Films is producing four 45-minute episodes for SWR and ARD. — The producer, commissioners and episode length are stated in the announcement; together they amount to 180 minutes.
- Confirmed Filming runs until early December in the southern Black Forest and around Munich. — Both filming locations and the schedule are explicitly stated.
- Confirmed Dünker is producing, Dufner is overseeing the project on behalf of SWR, Hummel and Mouchot are writing, and Krohmer is directing. — The names and roles correspond to the production credits.
- Confirmed Kunzendorf and Strauß are returning, along with other cast members. — The returning lead roles and ensemble members are mentioned.
- Confirmed According to DWDL, the first season averaged almost six million viewers on Das Erste in 2025. — The figure explicitly concerns the linear broadcast; it is not combined streaming reach.
- Confirmed SWR also describes the Mediathek performance as successful, without a separate reach figure. — A qualitative assessment by the broadcaster, attributed as such.
- Confirmed The follow-up deals with sexual violence and, according to SWR, is based on investigations into real cases. — Consistent with the content description, without explicit details.
- Confirmed No transmission date has yet been announced. — Wochenblatt explicitly states that a transmission date is missing.
- Confirmed The announcement contains no budget, exact first filming day or international sales agreements. — These details are absent from the production information consulted.
Editor’s note
The primary source was published on 16 October at 14:30; DWDL reported on the announcement that same afternoon. Event_date refers to that announcement, not to a proven first day of filming. The budget, exact digital reach and transmission date are not disclosed. The content is presented without explicit details of violence.Sources
- „Spuren II“: Neue Staffel für SWR Polizeiserie — SWR
- ARD-Polizeiserie „Spuren“ erhält eine zweite Staffel — DWDL
- Spuren II: Neue Staffel mit Nina Kunzendorf — Wochenblatt Reporter