The 40 most popular german family TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Cuisines des terroirs
2001
country: Germany
A sensual approach to culinary art "on the ground", meeting farmers, winegrowers, restaurateurs and cooks, where gastronomy and the art of living have their roots.


Wer weiß denn sowas?
2015
country: Germany
No overview available


The Peppercorns
1999
country: Germany
Die Pfefferkörner is a German television series produced by Der Kinderkanal. The peppercorns are five friends from Hamburg: Jana Holstein Coutre, Natasha "Tascha" Jaonzäns, Philip "Fiete" Overbeck, Cem Gülec and Vivien "Vivi" Overbeck, Fiete's eight year old sister. After school, the young detectives meet at a high level of a spice warehouse of the company Overbeck & Associates, which belongs to Fiete and Vivi's parents in the first part, but is later given to Fiete and Vivi to look after. Here, in the historic warehouse district, the five friends have their headquarters. With smarts, combined delivery and support of the Internet, they find their cases here. The detectives convict polluters, animal dealers and drug smugglers. They also help each other with personal problems they encounter. Cem has lost his parents in a car accident and sometimes feels sad and lonely. Jana lives with her divorcee mother, a lawyer who is rarely at home. Natasha comes from Latvia. Her parents initially have very strict rules in terms of her education, that make Natasha unhappy. Fiete has problems showing his feelings and hides them behind grumpiness and hostility towards girls, until he falls in love with Natasha. Vivi is suffering from her role of the youngest member of the group. She believes that she must constantly struggle for recognition.


Das Traumschiff
1981
country: Germany
The series is about a cruise ship that travels to places around the world.


Hallo Spencer
1979
country: Germany
Hallo Spencer is a German children's television series, created by Winfried Debertin and produced by Norddeutscher Rundfunk from 1979 until 2001. In these 22 years, 275 episodes were filmed, including a number of 'specials' featuring the characters taking part in traditional fairy tale and nursery rhyme themed stories. It is a puppet based show, featuring characters created and operated in the same fashion as Jim Henson's Muppets and Sesame Street, which in fact, some of the show's staff were former employees of the German version of Sesame Street. To this day, the series is popular and well loved in its home country to the extent that the theme park Heide Park features a themed area devoted to the show. The series has been repeated on the commercial channels Nickelodeon Germany and on the pay-TV channel Premiere. Episodes were regularly found on regional broadcast stations until March 2011.


Die Sendung mit der Maus
1971
country: Germany
The children's show has been a fixed Sunday morning ritual in German living rooms since 1971. Not only children, but also many adults sit in front of the television every week when the clever orange mouse, his blue elephant buddy and the yellow duck lead the way with short, funny cartoon clips between the "funny and factual stories".


Löwenzahn
1981
country: Germany
Each 30 minute episode is dedicated to a separate issue or theme and consists mainly of related short featurettes, which explain, explore and educate how things of everyday life and even complex systems work. It spans a wide variety of topics from technology and industry to something as mundane as how the postal service works.


Der Bergdoktor
2008
country: Austria
A medic lives with his small and strange family between the mountains and every episode he comes across a situation with not only his patients but also his family and friends.


Shimmer and Shine
2016
country: Germany
Twins genies, Shimmer and Shine, grant their human friend Leah three wishes every day - unintentional chaos follows.


Checker Tobi
2013
country: Germany
No overview available


Lazy Lucy
2004
country: France
At eight years old Lucy has her own view on life: why tire yourself out doing something, when you can find a lazier way? Lucy redoubles her energy to work out original and amusing solutions: from the room which tidies itself, to the dance for planting strawberries, she proves that she has more than one trick up her sleeve!


Die Fallers – Eine Schwarzwaldfamilie
1994
country: Germany
No overview available


Weißblaue Geschichten
1984
country: Germany
No overview available


Forsthaus Falkenau
1989
country: Germany
Forsthaus Falkenau is a German television series.


Deutschland sucht den Superstar
2002
country: Germany
Deutschland sucht den Superstar is a German reality talent show, also commonly known by its initials DSDS. Part of the Idol franchise, it was created by English media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between the years of 2001 and 2003. Debuting to mediocre ratings in October 2002 on the RTL network, the show has since become one of the most successful shows on German television. The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nationwide auditions in which viewer voting determines the winner. Voting is done through telephone and SMS text voting.


Unser Charly
1995
country: Germany
The exciting stories about the cheeky chimpanzee Charly, who finds a new home with a Berlin vet family.


Schlosshotel Orth
1996
country: Germany
Schlosshotel Orth is an Austrian television series.


House of Anubis
2009
country: Belgium
Das Haus Anubis is a children's television series produced jointly by Belgian broadcaster Studio 100 and Nickelodeon and the first remake of Het Huis Anubis aired in The Netherlands and Belgium. Another English remake called House of Anubis aired in 2011. With a seven-figure production budget, it is one of Nickelodeon's largest in-house productions, and the first German daily soap opera specifically aimed at children. From 29 September 2009 to 4 May 2012, the show had been running both on children's channel Nick, and season 1 on music channel VIVA. Das Haus Anubis is aimed at children twelve years old and above, and is the German remake of the successful Dutch television programme, Het Huis Anubis. This 2006/2009 series was one of the most successful children's series in the Benelux countries.


For Heaven's Sake
2002
country: Germany
Sister Hanna is a spirited, witty, resolute, warm-hearted, and - attractive nun. With her wit and street cred, she takes charge of Kaltenthal Cloister, transforming it into a popular refuge for all those seeking help of one kind or another. She also brings new life to the sleepy provincial community, proving herself quite a match for her great rival and opponent, the mayor Wolfgang Wöller.


Die Landarztpraxis
2023
country: Germany
No overview available
Die Anrheiner
Die Anrheiner
1998
country: Germany
Die Anrheiner is a German television soap opera series, broadcast on WDR-TV since March 21, 1998. The series is set and filmed in Cologne.


Heidi
2015
country: Germany
A plucky young orphan sent to live with her grandfather in the mountains discovers wonder and adventure around every corner.


Die Schwarzwaldklinik
1985
country: Germany
The Black Forest Clinic is a German language medical drama television series that was produced by and filmed in West Germany. The series was produced between 1984 and 1988 with the original airing being from October 2, 1985 to March 25, 1989 on West Germany's ZDF television channel. The series' storyline follows the inner workings of a small fictional hospital in the Black Forest region of Germany as well as the lives of the Brinkmann family of doctors who work at the hospital. Shortly after broadcasting had begun in 1985, The Black Forest Clinic became a highly popular television event, reaching audiences of over 20 million viewers. 25 years since its debut, it is still highly regarded in Germany. The series had been re-broadcast several times since 1985 and has spawned two television films released 20 years after its initial airing.


Wissen macht Ah!
2001
country: Germany
No overview available


Tierärztin Dr. Mertens
2006
country: Germany
Tierärztin Dr. Mertens is a German television series.


Circle of Life
2004
country: Germany
Examining different species of animals as they grow to adulthood and learn life lessons that are sometimes difficult.


Die große Maus-Show
2006
country: Germany
No overview available


The Masked Singer
2019
country: Germany
German version of the reality singing competition where celebrities battle it out with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head to toe in an elaborate costume, concealing their identity from the audience and the viewers at home.


Frühling
2011
country: Germany
Everyone in the Bavarian village of Frühling knows her: village volunteer Katja Baumann. Whether it’s milking cows or lending a helping hand to someone in need… Katja is always there.


Sternenfänger
2002
country: Germany
No overview available


Lena Lorenz
2015
country: Austria
Lena Lorenz is a captivating drama series that follows the life of a talented and ambitious midwife, Lena Lorenz, who returns to her idyllic hometown in the Bavarian Alps after working for several years in a bustling city hospital. Seeking a quieter and more meaningful life, Lena embarks on a journey of self-discovery, as she navigates the challenges and joys of her new profession in the picturesque rural village.


Sesamstraße
1975
country: Germany
Sesamstraße is the German-language version of Sesame Street, a children's television series. It airs primarily in Germany and the surrounding German-speaking countries. The show premièred on 8 January 1973, Sesamstraße has been running on Norddeutscher Rundfunk since 1973; it's now in its 40th season. Sesamstraße is also broadcast on Das Erste and KiKa.


Ein Heim für Tiere
1985
country: Germany
Ein Heim für Tiere is a German television series.


Praxis Bülowbogen
1987
country: Germany
Praxis Bülowbogen is a German television series.


Der Bergdoktor
1992
country: Germany
Der Bergdoktor is a German-Austrian medical drama television series, broadcast in 96 episodes between 1992 and 1997.


Coconut the Little Dragon
2015
country: Germany
No overview available


Drei Damen vom Grill
1977
country: Germany
Drei Damen vom Grill is a German television series.


Die ProSieben Märchenstunde
2006
country: Germany
Die ProSieben Märchenstunde is a television movie series that has been produced since 2006. It features characters that are exclusively portrayed by German and Austrian comedians and actors. The series is shot in Prague. The screenplays have - amongst others - been written by Tommy Krappweis, Erik Haffner and Norman Cöster who came up with the stories of Bernd das Brot. Additionally, they are directing and have cameo appearances. Many actors use their respective dialect. Die ProSieben Märchenstunde was nominated for the German Comedy Award in the category Best Comedy in 2006. It is also broadcast on Austrian television channel ORF, which is co-producing the series, airing the programme as Die ORF Märchenstunde.


Pan Tau
1970
country: Germany
Pan Tau always had a gentle expression and a friendly smile, he was elegantly dressed in a stroller, with an umbrella and a white carnation in the lapel. Foremost, he was famous for his magic bowler hat. By tapping on his hat, Pan Tau was able to change his appearance into a puppet, to conjure up miscellaneous objects or to do other magic. His most characteristically behavior is that he would help children who were experiencing some sort of difficulties in-between their dreams and reality, like finding a place for skiing, settling family problems on Christmas, and even give a boy a good time at a fair when he is supposed to have piano lessons. To adults, he usually remained invisible.


Jeux Sans Frontières
1965
country: Belgium
Jeux sans frontières ("Games Without Borders" in French) was a Europe-wide television game show, based on the French programme Intervilles which was first broadcast in 1962. In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which owned the format. In non French-speaking countries, the show had alternative titles. It is also widely known as "It's a Knockout", the title of the BBC's domestic version and national selection for the programme.
German television has found an international audience through high-concept genre serials and historical drama, backed by some of the largest production budgets in continental Europe.
Family television is built for co-viewing, balancing what works for a child with what keeps an adult in the room. The durable shows manage genuine warmth without condescending to either.