Netflix Built on ‘House of Cards’ Tested by Europe Shows
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The investigators of the crime series “Tatort” will be unfamiliar to most viewers in the U.S. Not so in Germany, where the decades-old show has a hundred times more pull than “House of Cards.” That’s a challenge for Netflix Inc. as it pushes deeper into Europe.
In close to 1,000 episodes since 1970, “Tatort” has changed little -- bodies are discovered, people are wrongfully suspected and through dogged investigation a last-ditch arrest is made -- yet the show still regularly draws more than 10 million viewers on Sunday evenings. Netflix is even trying to license the show from public broadcaster ARD, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.