# Crime Scene Cleaner (2011)

> A reserved crime scene cleaner in Hamburg stumbles into bizarre people and tangled situations while scrubbing up after violent deaths.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/46118

## Facts

- Seasons: 7
- Episodes: 31
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, crime
- Created by: Bjarne Mädel, Arne Feldhusen
- Network: NDR Fernsehen
- Cast: Bjarne Mädel, Hilke Altefrohne, Carmen-Maja Antoni, Michael Hanemann, Matthias Bundschuh, Matthias Brandt, Sebastian Weber, Verena Mundhenke
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2147995/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: deadpan, wry, melancholic, warm, absurd, understated

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard the series as a warm, well-observed black comedy that finds humor and quiet humanity in grim settings.

## Synopsis

Crime Scene Cleaner (2011-2018) is a German comedy crime series created by Bjarne Mädel and Arne Feldhusen for NDR Fernsehen. Bjarne Mädel stars as Heiko Schotte, nicknamed Schotty, a quiet cleaning technician who sweeps up blood, grime and debris after violent deaths and other grisly incidents across northern Germany. Each thirty-minute episode follows a new job, where Schotty meets eccentric clients, nervous relatives and strange neighbors, and quietly tries to set difficult situations right with patient decency. Supporting players rotate through the cases, with guest actors such as Matthias Brandt and Simon Schwarz appearing in one-off roles. The show runs seven seasons across thirty-one episodes and works as a case-of-the-week format rather than a continuing plot. Its engine is the gap between the grim subject matter and Schotty's dry, understated approach, producing a melancholic yet warm register built on deadpan humor and small human moments. Its atmosphere is wry and mundane, with muted interiors and ordinary streets standing in for the aftermath of tragedy. Fans of Detectorists, Shaun of the Dead and Fleabag will find resonance in its blend of awkward comedy, understated character work and dark subject matter treated with gentleness.

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