Systematic analysis of the pharmacological content of the Tatort (scene of crime) TV series from 2019 to 2021

Abstract

Tatort (scene of crime) is a must-see programme on Sunday evenings for many Germans. With its enormous reach, the crime series also deals in more than half of its episodes with active pharmacological substances, surprisingly most of them are used curatively. There are lots of ways representing the active pharmacological substances: simply naming the preparation to details such as information on how to take it or how it is manufactured illegally. Diseases of great interest to the public such as hypertension or depression are taken up. In addition to the correct presentation, in 20% of cases the active pharmacological substances were presented incorrectly or implausibly. But even with correct presentation, it may yield a harmful influence on viewers: Stigmatisation of preparations occurred in 14%, especially in the case of active pharmacological substances that are used in psychiatric therapies; presentations that could be considered dangerous occurred in 21% of the mentions. In 29%, content was presented positively to the audience beyond the correct presentation. Analgesics and active pharmacological substances used in psychiatry are frequently titled. But drugs such as amiodarone, insulin or "cortisone" are also mentioned. The potential for misuse is also presented. Tatort also educates the audience about common diseases and their treatment, for example hypertension, depression or the use of antibacterial drugs. However, the series does not educate the general public on the mechanism of action of commonly used drugs. There is a natural dilemma between informing the public and guiding them to misuse medicines. Finally, we discuss how future episodes could be improved with respect to pharmacological content.