“Tatort” about conspiracy myths: criticism of Liefers and ARD

Cologne –

Still more than eleven million viewers, but fewer than in over ten years: The Sunday thriller “Tatort: ​​Propheteus” with the Münster team Commissioner Thiel (Axel Prahl) and forensic doctor Boerne (Jan Josef Liefers) have an average of 11.03 seen millions. From 8.30 p.m. this corresponded to a market share of 34.5 percent.

The previous episode of the WDR crime thriller from Münster seven weeks earlier (January 16) was watched by more than 14 million viewers, and the market share at the time was over 40 percent.

Certainly, the relatively poor performance of “Tatort” is due to the current political situation, in which special programs and documentaries may be more likely to score points. However, the viewers do not seem to have been impressed by the thriller itself, as many reactions on Twitter suggest.

For one thing, many thought the story about conspiracy theorists and belief in reptilian aliens outrageous rather than funny. The more than obvious allusion to “Men in Black” is not well received.

Criticism of Jan-Josef Liefers’ role in #make everything tight

Above all, however, the criticism of many commentators was sparked by the fact that Boerne actor Jan-Josef Liefers was allowed to take part in a film with a conspiracy theme.

Liefers was involved in the #makethingsclose campaign in spring 2021 and targeted the corona measures in a spot. In the video for the campaign, Liefers thanked “all the media in our country, who have been tirelessly responsible and with a clear attitude for over a year to ensure that the alarm stays exactly where it belongs, namely at the very, very top”. Liefers then spoke of an ironic exaggeration and distanced himself from the action. He is not a lateral thinker. However, he later took part in a similar campaign again with #allesaufdentisch. Many posts on Twitter aim at this background:

The ARD didn’t do themselves any favors with this topic and Liefers, says this user:

Apart from that, the plot was also just terrible, it says here:

The irony, which the broadcaster had probably intended, simply did not go down well with many. There is a lot of talk about “silly”. (cme, with dpa)

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