Le Dernier témoin

The series aired on ZDF from March 1998 to July 2007 across 9 seasons, and starting June 4, 2007 it was also broadcast in French on Arte.

Episodes typically ran between 40 and 45 minutes, with the sole exception of 'Der heilige Krieg', the opening episode of season four, which had a 90-minute feature-film length.

Each episode ended with a disclaimer stating that the plot was fictional and any resemblance to real persons, companies, actions, or places was purely coincidental.

Following the death of lead actor Ulrich Mühe in July 2007, co-stars Gesine Cukrowski and Jörg Gudzuhn announced in November 2007 that they would not continue without him, leading ZDF to officially cancel the series in July 2008.

Ulrich Mühe played medical examiner Dr. Robert Kolmaar for the entire run, with Gesine Cukrowski as his colleague Dr. Judith Sommer and Jörg Gudzuhn as police officer Johannes 'Joe' Hoffer.

All 73 episodes across nine seasons were released on DVD by Edel Music & Entertainment at the end of 2007, and a complete box set was later reissued by Pandastorm Pictures in March 2022.

The series received several awards, including a 1998 Telestar Award for Ulrich Mühe and a Best Newcomer Actress Telestar for Theresa Scholze, plus a 1999 Deutscher Fernsehpreis for Best Screenplay for Gregor Edelmann, and a 2005 Deutscher Fernsehpreis for Best Actor for Mühe.

The show's music was composed by Günther Fischer, while most scripts were written by Gregor Edelmann and most episodes were directed by Bernhard Stephan.