29/01/26 – “Die Toten von Salzburg – Die letzte Reise” also delivered excellent ratings on ZDF: 5.89 million viewers (24.2 percent market share) watched the crime premiere on German television.
The latest episode of the crime series “Die Toten von Salzburg – Die letzte Reise” drew 5.89 million viewers on ZDF on Wednesday night, achieving a 24.2% market share. Among younger viewers (14–49), the episode attracted 0.39 million viewers, representing an 8.2% market share.
Over one million viewers in Austria
The latest episode already achieved top ratings at its TV premiere on ORF on January 6, 2026. A total of 951,000 viewers (final weighted figures) tuned in, corresponding to a strong 34% market share. More than 50,455 additional viewers watched via ORF ON, bringing the total audience in Austria to over one million. In “Die letzte Reise” Patricia Aulitzky makes her debut as new investigator “Lu” Frey. Alongside Michael Fitz, Fanny Krausz and Erwin Steinhauer, she investigates the death of a tour guide in the Hallein salt mine.
Murder in Hallein
About the episode: The body of a tour guide is found in the Hallein salt mine. It is a proverbial borderline case: the upper half of the body is in Germany, the lower half in Austria. But this time, neither Salzburg nor Traunstein wants to take on the investigation. Mur (Michael Fitz) has won a cruise, Russmeyer (Fanny Krausz) is rehearsing for a musical role, and Seywald (Erwin Steinhauer) is attending a ‘Less stress in two weeks’ seminar with René (Michael Schönborn) to save their relationship. It is only when their new colleague from Salzburg, former investigator Ludovika ‘Lu’ Frey (Patricia Aulitzky) – who fled Salzburg in her twenties but has now returned to care for her mother, who has dementia – arrives early for work that things start to move forward.
In addition to the popular main cast of Nikolaus Barton, Helmut Bohatsch, Sebastian Edtbauer, Michael Schönborn and Natalie O’Hara, this time Dany Sigel, Edi Jäger, Julia Rosa Peer, Michael Fuith, Ronald Seboth, Jonathan Beck, Maximilian Modl, Nayana Heuer, Runa Schymanski, Max Ortner, Beate Constanze Pitronik, Alyssandra Singh, Hans Sandhu and Torsten Hermentin also appeared in front of the camera. The screenplay was written by Stefan Brunner. Erhard Riedlsperger took the director’s chair, while Kai Longolius was responsible for the spectacular images. Filming took place in April/May 2025, this time in Hallein and the salt mines in Bad Dürrnberg, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Kapuzinerberg and Domplatz, and Café Bazar, among other locations.
Produced in accordance with strict guidelines
As a production company, Satel Film is a licensed holder (UW1481) of UZ 76, the Austrian Eco-Label for Green Producing. Accordingly, “Die Toten von Salzburg” is produced in compliance with these sustainability guidelines.
‘Die Toten von Salzburg’ is a production of Satel Film in co-production with ORF and ZDF, funded by FISAplus, Film in Austria (ABA), Fernsehfonds Austria, the Province of Salzburg and the City of Salzburg.
Cedit: Satel Film/Lisa Kutzelnig
