ARD

Munich – November 05, 2026 -- The three-part documentary series "Kings of Scam" about the fake DHL text message scam is available in the ARD Mediathek and has won first prize at the Helmut Schmidt Journalist Prize. The Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) production traces the criminal network behind the messages and a mysterious piece of software.

The scam starts with a harmless-sounding parcel notice

The series opens with a message like this one: a DHL parcel has arrived at the warehouse, cannot be delivered because of an incomplete address, and the recipient must confirm the address via a link within 12 hours. According to the source, messages like this open the door to a large-scale fraud. Every year, sensitive data is stolen from hundreds of thousands of people, and their credit card details are skimmed.

Munich – November 04, 2026 -- The Austrian comedy "Aufputzt is' – Ein Weihnachtsdebakel" streams in the ARD Mediathek from December 15, 2026, and makes its German TV debut on December 25, 2026, at 10 p.m. on BR Fernsehen.

A Viennese site manager sinks into holiday chaos

Andi (Gery Seidl), a construction site manager in Vienna, is racing to finish a major contract just before Christmas. At the same time, he wants to give his wife Steffi (Marlene Morreis), her young daughter and the demanding mother-in-law a perfect holiday. Between picking up the Christmas tree and hunting for the doors ordered for the site, he is soon overwhelmed.

Karlsruhe – November 02, 2026 -- The 23rd ARD Hörspieltage run from November 5 to 8, 2026, and most of the program is free to attend. This year's motto is "Nothing Serious," with humor as the focus of the German-speaking world's most important audio drama festival.

Venues expand to a museum for the first time

The festival takes place at the ZKM and the HfG, and for the first time at the Kunstmuseum. SWR leads the organization, and Mareike Maage directs it. Actor and DJ Lars Eidinger will play a set at the Kunstmuseum on opening night.

A panel opens the festival by asking what makes us laugh

The four-day event starts with the discussion "Worüber lachen wir?" ("What do we laugh about?"). Audio drama director Leonhard Koppelmann, comedian Aurel Mertz and film director Isabel Schneider take part. Podium talks, audio dramas and live acts explore what humor is and how it has changed over time.

Erfurt – October 30, 2026 -- KiKA's November 2026 streaming lineup opens on 1 November with a 26-episode watercolor series for preschoolers, the complete first season of a time-travel fantasy and Christmas classics.

Three titles arrive on 1 November

"Baum und Biene" follows best friends Baum and Biene through everyday adventures in a watercolor world. All 26 episodes of the animated series stream on kikaninchen.de and in the Kikaninchen app.

In the fantasy series "Die Zeitfälscherin," 13-year-old Sofie receives a time machine and travels back to stop her parents' separation. Her changes to the past put her family and hometown in danger. Every episode of season 1 is on kika.de and in the KiKA app, and season 2 premieres in December.

Classic "Beutolomäus" live-action series and films, about Santa's loyal helper, also arrive on 1 November for primary school children and families.

Leipzig – October 30, 2026 -- A new MDR documentary is streaming now in the ARD Mediathek, and the people behind one of Germany's biggest post-reunification data scandals appear on camera for the first time. "Der große Stasi-Leak – Helden oder Verräter?" (The Great Stasi Leak – Heroes or Traitors?) airs on MDR-Fernsehen on November 10 at 8:15 p.m.

An anonymous 1992 list named 4,500 alleged informants

In 1992, an anonymous list circulated in Saxony-Anhalt naming 4,500 alleged Stasi informants from Halle/Saale. Who published it stayed secret for decades. After more than 35 years, the authors now tell their story for ARD History.

Smuggled microfilms and secret hiding places drive the story

The participants describe how they decided to make the names public. They recount smuggled microfilms, hiding places and covert operations. The film frames the events as a historical true-crime and espionage case.

Cologne – October 30, 2026 -- The new social reality series "Vibes – Find Your Fire" arrives in the ARD Mediathek on November 5, 2026, with ten episodes of 50 minutes each. TV star Motsi Mabuse accompanies nine women who spend twelve days together in a villa on Rhodes.

The participants do not know each other and are at very different points in their lives. What they share is a wish for change, sensuality, closeness to themselves and the courage to give their own needs more room.

Mabuse leads the group with two experts at her side

Mabuse acts as confidante and motivator. She listens, asks questions and pushes the women to look at uncomfortable topics. Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Hedda Hess and sexological bodyworker Stella Sieger support her.

Mainz – October 29, 2026 -- A new documentary from ARD Wissen, "Meine Träume – Was verraten sie über mich?" (My Dreams – What Do They Reveal About Me?), is streaming now in the ARD Mediathek. It asks whether people are helpless against their nightmares or can learn to shape them.

Nightmares affect 3 to 7 percent of healthy adults every week

People spend about a third of their lives asleep, and they dream even if they don't remember it. According to the film, roughly 3 to 7 percent of healthy adults have at least one nightmare a week. People with mental illness or trauma have them far more often. A so-called nightmare disorder can be severely distressing, because fear and negative feelings from sleep can spill into daily life.

Baden-Baden – October 29, 2026 -- SWR's November lineup for ARD Mediathek, ARD Sounds and the ARD Twitch channel starts on November 5 with a documentary series about visibility. It ends with a three-part Sven Hannawald documentary on November 28 and a parasite documentary on November 30.

Documentaries open the month from November 5

The new season of "Der Junge Dokumentarfilm" arrives in ARD Mediathek on November 5. Its films follow people who want a place in public life, whether on the opera stage, on television or in Kosovo's young music scene. "Born to Fake" opens the season, followed by "Leben für die Oper - Primadonna or Nothing" and "Palace of Youth".

Berlin – October 29, 2026 -- A four-part documentary podcast called "Die Party ist vorbei" ("The Party Is Over") examines how safe sex-positive parties really are. All episodes arrive in ARD Sounds on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

One night leads from the club to the courtroom

The series follows Hannah (name changed), who goes to a sex-positive party looking forward to an evening of freedom. Her night ends in the emergency room and later in court. Her story raises wider questions: What happens when boundaries are crossed at these events? What do awareness concepts achieve, and who is responsible?

Mainz – October 29, 2026 -- Visitors to the free SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival in Halle (Saale) can attend talks, workshops, film screenings and a kids' science show from ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk between October 28 and November 1, 2026. The ninth edition runs under the motto "Ich, verbesserlich?" (roughly, "Me, improvable?") and focuses on health. It is one of the largest free science and media festivals, with more than 45,000 visitors.

ZDF editor Prof. Peter Arens says the festival gives the broadcaster a chance to reach a young audience and talk about health, science and society.