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List of Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei characters

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This is the list of Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei characters.

Preview

Character Actor Position Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Semir Gerkhan Erdoğan Atalay Detective Chief Main
Katharina Lamprecht Almut Eggert Detective Chief, Department Head Main Recurring
Frank Stolte Johannes Brandrup Detective Main Guest
Ingo Fischer Rainer Strecker Detective Main †
Anna Engelhardt Charlotte Schwab Detective Chief,
Department Head		 Recurring Recurring?
Horst Herzberger Dietmar Huhn Officer III Recurring †
Dieter Bonrath Gottfried Vollmer Officer III Recurring † Recurring†?
Andrea Gerkhan (née Schäfer) Carina Wiese Secretary Recurring Recurring
André Fux Mark Keller Detective Main Guest †
Tom Kranich René Steinke Detective Main Main †
Hartmut Freund Niels Kurvin CSU Recurring
Jan Richter Christian Oliver Detective Main
Chris Ritter Gedeon Burkhard Detective Main †
Susanne König Daniela Wutte Secretary Recurring
Kim Krüger Katja Woywood Detective Chief, Department Head Recurring
Ben Jäger Tom Beck Detective Main Guest
Jennifer Dorn Katrin Heß Detective Recurring
Alexander "Alex" Brandt Vinzenz Kiefer Detective Main
Dana Gerkhan Gizem Emre Officer III
(Plainclothes)		 Recurring Main
Paul Renner Daniel Roesner Detective Main
Roman Kramer Patrick Kalupa Detective Chief,
Department Head		 Main
Marc Schaffrath Christopher Patten Detective Main
Vicky Reisinger Pia Stutzenstein Detective Main
Max Tauber Nicolas Wolf Officer III
(Plainclothes)		 Main


Characters

Semir Gerkhan

This section lists events whose chronological order is ambiguous, backward, or otherwise incorrect. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the described events are arranged in an unambiguous forward-chronological sequence. (January 2024)

Senior Chief Inspector Semir Gerkhan (portrayed by Erdoğan Atalay) has been present since "The New Partner." Outside of his main role, he also held a position as Deputy Head of the Polizei Autobahn Station.

Growing up in Cologne-Kalk, Semir was a criminal in his youth; at the age of 13, he stole cars, but at one point, tried to save the life of a family that crashed into the Rhine, to no avail; the incident traumatized him since. This also destroyed the friendship of his former clique, which excluded juvenile imprisonment. When he went to the German police, he was on odd ends with his father, who would later die of a heart attack (later revealed in "Happy Birthday" to have been caused by poisoning). Semir has repressed his grief and has been estranged from his mother ever since. He has a brother named Kemal and a cousin named Aladdin.

After years of on/off relationship, in "Forever and Ever", Semir marries the secretary of the department Andrea Schäfer and now has two daughters with her, Ayda and Lily. Starting from "Resurrection," Andrea had an affair with a lover called Robert, moving away from Semir with the children, having found his work being much too dangerous for their family, and he was no longer himself for a while. The resignation of his partner at the time, Ben Jäger, further made him unpredictable for a long time. Only when Alex Brandt joins the Cobra 11 team and copes with the current fall with him after initial problems does he regain his self-confidence. In "1983", he and Andrea divorced, but still shared the concern for their children and kept in touch with each other on friendly terms. Since "The Last Night" in the Fall 2014 season, Semir has been reunited romantically with Andrea, finalized a second time by their marriage in "East of Eden". As of "The New," Andrea and their two daughters, Lily and Ayda, have moved to Copenhagen, leaving Semir in Cologne with his mother and illegitimate daughter Dana, who also works as a policewoman. Their relationship was long-distance and seemingly working. However, in three special 90 minutes episodes ("Unversöhnlich", "Machtlos", "Schutzlos"; 2022), it is revealed that the long-distance relationship failed, and Andrea and Semir are once again divorced, and the pair split for good. At first Semir enjoys his single life, but soon finds a new love interest, doctor Bianca Kessler (portrayed by Yasmina Djaballah).

In "72 Hours of Anxiety" Semir learns that he has another daughter, Dana Wegner, from an affair over 11 years ago. Semir has once again more contact with his illegitimate daughter during "At One's Own Risk", through which she was abducted in Brussels and was to be sold as a sex slave, whereupon Semir went to Brussels to save her. With the death of her parents in the latter episode, Semir is all Dana has left; despite their somewhat rocky relationship in later episodes, Semir deeply cares for her and her future, especially after she aspires to become a police officer like her father. In the special three 90 minutes episodes (2022), Dana was in happy relationship with Max, delivering their first baby, making Semir a grandfather.

In "Angel of Death", Semir quits his job for private reasons and voluntarily moves into the LKA, which was formerly regarded by him as a punishment. When his colleague Ben Jäger is dependent on his help in a recent case, he returns to the Cobra 11 team.

"Legacy, Part 2" shows Semir trapped in Istanbul, four months after hearing word of his mother's incarceration; by unknown means, he returns to Cologne six months after in "The New," becoming quickly acquainted with the reformatting of the PAST after his reinstatement. Later episodes, however, reveal what he did in Istanbul: in order to infiltrate the city, he stole 50,000 euros in a deposit box to spend on heroin, having received word of the charges brought against his mother by the local police. While pinning the drugs on crime lord Ahmet Takim, Semir accidentally kills the man and is imprisoned for manslaughter as a result. Post-incarceration, Kiran, Takim's brother who bore witness to the murder, followed the then ex-cop back home only to exact retribution to the latter's mother; he is killed by Semir's most recent partner Vicky, who followed Semir with a gut-feeling, but manages to utter "...he's lying..." before slumping dead.

Max Tauber, Dana's boyfriend and co-worker, initially makes good terms with Semir, but both start to hold grudges at each other after a fight between the former two. This sparks Max's curiosity of the aforementioned skirmish in Istanbul, which he finds out himself through covertly recovered files from the BKA. This culminates in Semir's arrest by the higher agency, and only after evidence is discovered of Semir's actions being within legal restraint is he released. Although Max and Semir eventually make amends, the latter personally supporting the former's relationship with his daughter, Semir Gerkhan ultimately turns himself back in, deciding to come full circle with his actions and resigning from the Autobahn Police altogether. Dana and Max got engaged in 2022 and had their first child.

His iconic silver BMW 3 Series is driven in almost every episode to scrap, though despite all the daring maneuvers and accidents, Semir rarely carries serious injuries. In "Sabotage" and "Friends for Life," however, his car accidents lead to head injuries, both of which result in a several-day coma; in "Between Life and Death," his coma lasts for only several hours, during which he determines the location of a child abductor. "Das Team - Teil 2" reveals that he privately owns a BMW 330i F30, likely the one used prior to his partnership with Vicky.

His sidearm is a Walther P88, which has been his sidearm of choice since the second season; in the first season, and on rare occasions that his P88 is stolen, he makes use of a SIG P225.

Katharina Lamprecht

Katharina Lamprecht (portrayed by Almut Eggert) was chief of police and former head of the highway police. She was commanding officer to Frank, Ingo, Semir and Andre. She stopped to appear in the series after the 6th episode of the 2nd season without an explanation.

Frank Stolte

Chief inspector Frank Stolte (portrayed by Johannes Brandrup) was the partner of Ingo Fischer and, later, of Semir Gerkhan. He came from the GSG9, where he shot a terrorist without a gun command. The court said he was free, but the media scolded him. After his death, Frank had to fight hard against the differences with his subsequent partner Semir.

Since the end of the first season, he stopped to appear without explanation.

In "Risk" it came to the reunion with Semir when Frank tried elucidate back in Germany the supposed death of a colleague near Mostar, while uncovering criminal activity of his former employer. It is learned that he changed to the BKA and later into the private economy. He worked in various crisis areas, most recently for a private company in the clearing of landmines in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Ingo Fischer

Chief inspector Ingo Fischer (portrayed by Rainer Strecker) was the first partner of Frank Stolte, with whom he is good friends with. This comes to the latter's grief in the second episode, as Ingo took a shotgun blast to the chest, making him the shortest serving character in the series.

André Fux

In 1997, Chief Inspector André Fux (portrayed by Mark Keller) came to Frank Stolte's exit to the motorway police station. He had a black belt in Karate and exhibits especially outstanding skills in the unarmed combat. In 1999, André was wounded by a harpoon shot on Mallorca. He then falls out of the boat, goes underneath and was missing since then, deemed to have been killed.

In "Resurrection", it is revealed that Fux was found and tended to by a fisherman. He later began a new life and went undercover for the BKA. In the course of the episode, it is also revealed that his wife and his 5-year-old daughter died in a car bombing in 2009. Since then, he has been chasing the murderers of his family. However, it later turned out that Fux had been affiliated with a criminal organization as well, a fact that his former partner, Semir, could not comprehend. Later, following a car accident in the Alps, Semir grabbed his hand on the cliff to hold him, but could not hold him any longer, causing Fux to, following an emotional farewell, fall down a cliff and die. As Fux asked for Semir to further avenge his family in his place, this request perhaps fell on deaf ears.

Tom Kranich

Chief Inspector Tom Kranich (portrayed by René Steinke) came to the Kripo motorway in 1999 and was the successor of Chief Inspector André Fux. He has a sister who appeared in "Between two stools". His father is a successful night club owner in Cologne.

After Semir Gerkhan had overcome the grief over the loss of his colleague André Fux, he and Tom Kranich developed a real friendliness of men. Later they were also best friends outside the profession. In "Resignation" Tom had to cope with a severe blow when his then pregnant girlfriend Elena Krüger, was killed by a car bomb, which was intended for him. Because of it, he resigned.

For those two years his replacement was Jan Richter.

After two years Tom Kranich, now working as a go-kart instructor, returned at the request of his colleague Semir Gerkhan in "Comeback", after Jan had left. At first, he only wanted to help with a case, but then decided to return to his old life and not to quit. In "Life & Death", Tom was killed when attempting to save a girl from human traffickers.

Jan Richter

Inspector Jan Richter (portrayed by Christian Oliver) was originally a member of the theft decree. In "Baptism of Fire" he met Semir, when Semir was looking for a new partner, randomly apply to Jan. Since collaboration worked well, he chose Jan. Jan switched to the highway patrol and thus became Semir's new partner.

Jan was also Semir's best men, when Semir married Andrea Schäfer in "Forever and Ever". There is no real explanation for Jan's departure. At the half of the tenth season, "Extreme", he only survived an undercover assignment. There, his great love intentionally collapsed with a carriage into an abyss. It can be concluded that he has put the job on the nail.

Jan was only particularly mentioned in the subsequent episode "Comeback".

Chris Ritter

Chief Inspector Chris Ritter (portrayed by Gedeon Burkhard) is Tom's successor. He was a clandestine investigator at LKA Department 60. During an order, he was unmasked by gangsterbones and tortured almost to death. When his colleagues found him, he was already half dead. He returned home, but he was no longer the man he used to be, and his marriage was ruined. He has a daughter and a son, but he does not have much time for it. He has a sister living in London who has a guest appearance in the series. As a result, in "Life and Death" she is kidnapped instead of Chris and to be misused for illegal organ trade. After this, the relationship between the two of them improved after his sister had denied him any contact for two years.

As a result, on "Life and Death", he goes undercover again as Mark Jäger. At first it looks as "Mark Jäger" had killed Tom. Chris, however, convinced Semir in his innocence. Together, they chase Tom's real murderer, who eventually dies in a shot change. Since this case arouses public interest and pictures of Chris are shown in the media, he can no longer work as a covert investigator and switches to the highway police.

First, however, he has great problems, again to determine as a normal policeman. He makes a lot of alleys and his methods of interrogating someone are unqualified for a policeman. In addition, he found it difficult initially to trust Semir. Later, however, the two get together and become private friends. However, this friendship was by no means as tight as with Semir's previous partners, as Chris suffered a severe trauma to his death because of his experiences.

Chris Ritter is shot and killed from a helicopter in an attempt to save a former girlfriend.

Ben Jäger

Chief Inspector Ben Jäger (portrayed by Tom Beck) is Chris' successor. He was first introduced to Semir in "Auf Eigene Faust", when Semir was chasing Chris' murderer, Sander Kalvus. Although distrustful of him at first, Semir and Ben soon became good friends. Ben is characterized as being an ambitious, often rebellious young officer and later, a similar counterpart to Semir's behavior.

In "Einsame Entscheidung", he left the police after an emotional case, where he was forced to shoot his girlfriend to save Semir, and swore he never wanted to go through something like this again. He left to start his career as a musician in the United States, for which he was given a guitar signed by his colleagues. At the end of the episode, he is seen performing "This Time" in Hollywood with his band "The Backseats".

Ben would briefly return in "Happy Birthday" in 2019, to celebrate Semir's 50th birthday.

Alexander Brandt

After 2 years in prison for drug deals, Chief Inspector Alexander "Alex" Brandt, née Rickert (played by Vinzenz Kiefer), starts a new life in "Revolution". He is shown with a personality mixed with Andre's and Semir's behaviors; rowdy at times, but willing to get the job done. Alex is first shown leaving prison in the pilot episode of Season 19. However, he owned a gun and a Police ID in his shack, which means he serves the law. He seems to have a good-bad relationship with Semir at first, but later, they become coexistent and cooperative with each other. Sometimes, in a hurry before taking up a chase, he will even take the wheel of Semir's car, using manual shift and scrapping it very few times. Alex also has a relationship with a young boy named Felix Neuberger, who had a few recurring appearances after the pilot episode "The Dark Side". He also appears to have a soft side going with his hardened self, as he shows this with officer Jenny Dorn after the death of Dieter Bonrath.

In "Wind Chimes", Alex met his father, Frank Rickert, who had committed a crime 30 years ago and been in hiding since that. After Frank was killed, Alex broke down completely as he has lost almost every great aspect of his family. This in turn led to his resignation from police, as he is last shown riding his Triumph Thruxton 900 on the autobahn away from the NRW after parting from Semir, intending to go find his mother in Brazil.

Paul Renner

In the beginning of "Cobra, übernehmen sie!", a young Paul Renner manages to help Semir arrest two criminals on April 7, 1996. 20-years later, he would now become Semir's partner in the Autobahnpolizei, thanks to a transfer arranged by Semir's former boss Anna Engelhardt. Outside of the police work, Paul loves watersports. He is also very worried for his father Klaus (played by Michael Brandner), a former coal miner turned mechanic, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. In "Die besten letzten Tage", Klaus has been a testperson for a new Alzheimer's drug, which however, increases the probability of cardiac death.

In March 2019, Daniel Roesner announced that he would leave the show after Fall 2019 season. In the show, Klaus' dementia would then worsen, and then in "Brautalarm" Paul announced that he would leave the Autobahnpolizei to care for his father. In the season finale "Vermächtnis (2)", Paul and his father set sail for New Zealand on a sailboat.

Vicky Reisinger

During Semir's incarceration in Istanbul, detective Vicky Reisinger took over as the head inspector of the Autobahn Police, alongside plainclothes officer Max Tauber. After Tauber is suspended for assaulting a journalist reporting on a kidnapping case, Vicky and Semir are partnered together. Initially, their relationship is turbulent, as Semir would find out of Vicky's past with a racist organized crime unit in Dortmund; however, after she saves her partner, thus proving her loyalty, they grow to become fast friends as well as a great team.

Her past in Dortmund is further haunted by her ex-boyfriend, Marc Schaffrath, who worked in the same unit and with whom she was, for a time, on lesser terms. During an investigation into the Dortmund organized crime unit, Vicky is shot by her former chief. Though she recovers, this is only temporary; her dependence on painkillers to relieve the pain in the aftermath eventually takes its toll and she has to undergo dialysis until she finds a kidney donor. When Marc volunteers as a donor while undercover, this spurs a search by Vicky and Semir that eventually proves life-threatening, during which she is stripped of her police powers; two months later, it is revealed that Vicky's kidney transplant was successful, and she has been reinstated.

Guest appearance

References

  1. Poursanati, Susan (December 11, 2019). "The integration of the Turks into the German Society and the Orientalist stereotypes in Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei". In Keramatfar, Hossein (ed.). Cinema and Its Representations: Poetics and Politics. Cambridge Scholars. ISBN 9781527544567.
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