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Der Clown was a German television series that ran between 21 April 1998 and 11 October 2001. It ran for 46 episodes, and starred Sven Martinek, Diana Frank, Thomas Anzenhofer and Volkmar Kleinert. Der Clown was also a 2005 film.
1998
A journalist investigating a money-counterfeiting gang is murdered; The Clown uncovers a violent counterfeit operation.
An anonymous extortionist demands 50 million Deutsche Mark from the federal government, threatening to kill members of the Bundestag and their families. When ignored, he fires shots at a charity event attended by Ludowski and Claudia—narrowly missing Sarah Graz, a member of parliament and Claudia’s former schoolmate. Max poses as their driver/bodyguard; when their car is shot at, he neutralizes the assassin. After the government gives in, The Clown refuses, leading to a high‑stakes cat‑and‑mouse game with the extortionist and the police
Cosmo Nunnari, an old friend from Max’s Bundeswehr and WIPA days, pleads for help—he’s building a case against the ruthless arms dealer Van Vericke. Vericke retaliates by kidnapping Cosmo’s young daughter, Gina, and exchanging her for the evidence. The Clown, joined by Claudia and Cosmo, locates her on an isolated farm. In a tense raid, they storm the hideout, only to face an unexpected twist upon arrival .
A man wearing a harlequin mask leaves a trail of murders in the red‑light district. The press falsely accuses the Clown, and Ludowski fails to convince Führmann otherwise. Max infiltrates as bait with Claudia’s help to expose the Harlequin, linked to a brothel‑owner’s underworld killings .
An assassination attempt on Ludowski outside a chess club alerts Max and Cosmo. They uncover a group of Russian special‑forces called the "Shadows of Rasputin," and, with Claudia’s aid, locate their hideout .
Real estate tycoon Börner uses threats and violence to acquire properties in the station district. Martina Sanchez, owner of a local bar, refuses to sell. After her employee is run down—staged as a hit and run—Ludowski suspects police involvement and corruption. It's up to The Clown to intervene. Max and his allies confront Börner directly; he retaliates fiercely. The resulting confrontation becomes a nerve‑wracking duel between Börner and The Clown .
1998
The wife and daughter of wealthy industrialist Steinrich are kidnapped. Max discovers a Chinese officer, Kang‑Sheng, is behind it—seeking to sabotage Steinrich’s lucrative contract. The Clown rescues them despite sabotage and explosions targeting Dobbs
Three professional parachutists attempt to rob an armored truck by crashing it from a bridge and escaping by parachute. The plan fails, resulting in prison and new criminal ventures post-release .
Max intervenes to protect Akiko, the granddaughter of a Japanese mafia boss, from an assassination plot by rival Nakamichi. He infiltrates as her bodyguard, they fall in love, but tragedy ensues when Akiko is killed during a climactic aerial duel—rescued by Dobbs in his helicopter .
Shady entrepreneur Lindenberg is murdered by his ruthless twin brother, Axel, in a bid to claim their father's substantial inheritance. But the will stipulates that the first son to become a father inherits the estate — giving Michael, Axel's twin, the edge as his child is due soon. However, unable to have a child with his wife, Michael arranges for a surrogate, Anke. Axel abducts Anke to impersonate Michael’s paternity, hoping to deceive the will by exploiting the twins' similar genetic makeup. Claudia’s close friend Anke is taken in front of her, prompting Claudia to alert Max. Now The Clown must locate the kidnapper and protect Anke before Axel secures the inheritance.
Max loses a bet and is forced to attend an opera ball with Claudia. Meanwhile, gangster Kott and his crew rob a bank near a TV tower; Max tracks suspicious figures inside the tower, leading to a fierce gunfight .
After thwarting the gang’s escape twice with help from Grandpa Kurz, Kott attempts to flee via sewage. A SWAT team enters the tower; amid a firefight Max saves officers. Kott threatens Claudia from the tower’s upper level, but Max refuses to back down .
A politician dies in a suspicious helicopter crash that also injures Dobbs, leaving him in a wheelchair. The team uncovers sabotage by industrialist Hennermann, who had motives to eliminate the politician .
Vana, a Yugoslav sniper hired to kill prosecutor Reuter, hesitates upon seeing his daughter. Hired by criminal Nakic, she becomes a target and warns Dobbs, enabling Max to foil another attack. Nakic retaliates by kidnapping the daughter; Max must act decisively .
1999
Government of African state Cananga negotiates mining rights with German firm. Civil rights activist Mukele holds old documents proving tribal ownership. When murder attempts fail, Max breaks into embassy, recovers the documents, and rescues Ludowski from antagonist Jerome (a hired thug)
Thug Jerome survives past events, kills Ludowski. The Clown avenges him and fakes new identity as Max Hecker. Dobbs is briefly arrested, then released. Mysterious “Shadow Men” threaten Max, Claudia, and Dobbs unless they comply with their orders .
Sent to Portugal by “Shadow Men” to prevent atomic weapon deal: drug lord Alvarado aims to purchase portable nukes from deserters. Max must retrieve them—and meets ex-colleague Hartmann, now Alvarado’s right-hand man .
In Portugal, Hartmann finalises Alvarado’s deal. Max and Dobbs disrupt the exchange, chasing the fugitives into the mountains, culminating in a tight standoff .
On a Zurich-bound flight with Claudia aboard, Max receives a call that ex-comrades plan to hijack the plane and free witness Lenz mid-air. Despite interference, Claudia and a novice pilot land the plane after chaos ensues .
Max and team must stop a saboteur, Smuts, before he accesses a new satellite and controls critical systems. He rigs explosives to erase evidence. The Clown fights a race against time to neutralize him .
Former NVA officer Jürgen Kress, brainwashed to sabotage with codewords, survives a camp accident and executes his plan on Cologne’s Hohenzollern Bridge (“Mouse Trap”). Max uncovers a second plot targeting a dam under the code “Castor” .
Claudia and Dobbs witness a cunning pickpocket incident. The boy, Ion, is chased by a car and saved by them. He leads Max and team to ringleader Hausschild’s gang of child thieves. Max is captured and locked in a flooded sewer but is rescued by Claudia before drowning. They continue tracking the gang via a hidden tracker
Lazlo Puskas hides a suitcase containing incriminating evidence against drug-dealer Elias Hollbeck. Lazlo turns himself in, but Hollbeck’s men plan to kill him in police custody. Max must extract Lazlo from lock-up before the hit is carried out
The team is to rescue a highly gifted boy from the clutches of Dr. Werner Gräfe, who wants to use his abilities for terrorist purposes. Max is able to get the boy out of Gräfe's "institute", but in the process Dobbs is captured.
Dobbs reports a UFO encounter, dismissed by the team. Meanwhile, oil executive Dr. Gottwald plants explosives in his company’s refinery. The factory explodes. The Shadow Men claim Gottwald couldn’t be guilty. Dobbs alleges alien saboteurs are behind it, noting a missing general and suspicious black-clad figures dumping a body
Dobbs inherits a functioning time machine. By an unfortunate coincidence, Max and Claudia end up in the Middle Ages at the castle of the Marquis of Mendoza. The tyrant is enchanted by Claudia and is determined to make her his wife.
2001
The mafia boss Di Peena controls the protection racket in a business district. Owners who refuse to pay are intimidated by his men. By chance, Max and Dobbs witness a money collection.
By a lucky coincidence, Dobbs gets off a public bus before a poison gas attack kills all the passengers. Unfortunately, the police now suspect Dobbs of the perpetration. He flees and asks Max and Claudia for help.
The dubious meat wholesaler Winkelmann is suspected of smuggling drugs. Winkelmann's former secretary agrees to testify against her ex-boss in court. A witness protection program is supposed to protect her from attacks.
Casual thief Frederico Spinosi only clears out apartments whose owners are deceased. During one of his burglaries, he breaks open the safe of a recently murdered prosecutor. This causes trouble for two corrupt commissioners.
A truck speeds through the streets of Cologne and drives into the sold-out Kölnarena. Shortly after the crash, an anonymous caller contacts the police chief and demands the release of imprisoned war criminal Mirco Drusic.
A truck speeds through the streets of Cologne and drives into the sold-out Kölnarena. Shortly after the crash, an anonymous caller contacts the police chief and demands the release of imprisoned war criminal Mirco Drusic.
Sven Martinek
Der Clown
Diana Frank
Claudia Diehl
Thomas Anzenhofer
Tobias 'Dobbs' Steiger
Streaming availability information not available
2001
Max is ambushed while parking; ex-mistress Judith warns him of a hit ordered by underworld boss Manescu. Max escapes with her to a houseboat, but Claudia and Dobbs are attacked and hospitalized. Judith gives Max Manescu's hideout, but it’s a setup. The Clown realizes it's his trap
The clown fights against a traitor in the ranks of the Armed Forces, who cooperates with arms pushers and betrays the latest weapons systems of the army.
Sister Romana is targeted by poison-coated bullet; Max is hit too and must find a rare antidote within an hour to save both her and children during a riverboat festival. Claudia retrieves the serum, though detained by police, and Max confronts assassin Ivan Smert
Undercover among homeless to investigate disappearances, Max wakes in a rundown clinic. He discovers illegal organ harvesting, including friend Äskulap. He alerts Claudia and Dobbs to Dr. Hahn's facility before they’re next—Max races to save them
Max and crew pursue Roy Roulette, who stole a radar-detecting microchip. In a shootout, Roy is killed, Shannon (cowgirl) escapes with the chip, but Bradley claims to be a Texas Ranger. He betrays them—being in league with Shannon and Roy. A dramatic betrayal unfolds over control of the chip
Claudia's half-sister Chantal, a stripper, witnesses a politician murdering a prostitute and inadvertently records it. The politician orders a hit. Max must protect Chantal and expose the crime
2000
Max goes undercover in a casino laundering black money. During a police raid, he's torn between loyalty to the casino boss and aiding the investigation. When the boss’s daughter is kidnapped to halt the raid, Max prevents a train robbery, rescues the child amid a high-octane chase, but his cover is severed when Claudia is captured
Police officers Nicola and Sven have discovered that Robert Brock, the head of the LKA, is reselling confiscated weapons. To get certainty, they observe him making a deal, but are discovered in the process.
Max is framed after a bank robbery with Claudia & Dobbs presumed dead. Sent to prison, he infiltrates a criminal cell led by Michalski to uncover a plot by female terrorist “Marcos” planning a gas attack. He escapes to stop the attack .
A journalist has sneaked into a refugee organization to prove that its president, Steinmann, is pocketing donations. Eventually, she manages to copy evidence from Steinmann's computer.
Chief Inspector Führmann blackmails the clown and forces Max and Dobbs to travel to Colombia to arrest the wanted criminal Karl Schall. He has barricaded himself in the luxury mansion of his friend El Cordon.
Claudia manages to gain access to El Cordon's fortress-like estate, where Karl Schall is hiding. When Claudia's cover is blown, Max and Dobbs are forced into a breakneck rescue operation.
