Action Channel expands its crime lineup with the acquisition of season 4 of “Soko Linz”, making all seasons of the series available to Japanese audiences.

AUSTRIA/JAPAN – ORF-Enterprise is pleased to announce the further strengthening of its partnership with Japanese broadcaster Action Channel, which has now acquired season 4 of the crime series “Soko Linz”. With this latest deal, Action Channel acquired its full rights package. After the initial acquisition of seasons one through three, the broadcaster now brings all four available seasons of the series to audiences across Japan.

The series, produced by Gebhardt Productions, has established itself as a strong performer in international markets. Action Channel attributes the show’s growing success in Japan particularly to its focus on teamwork and the collaborative dynamics at the heart of the storytelling.

Kenji Yamazaki, who oversees Programming and Production at Action Channel, emphasizes: “We believe the primary reason for the show’s immense popularity among Japanese viewers lies in its classic narrative structure of ‘overcoming challenges through teamwork’. This theme of ‘uniting to face a common goal’ is a guaranteed hit across Japanese manga, anime, and TV dramas, and it reflects a national aesthetic similar to the collective passion seen in sports. In the series, each character utilizes their unique expertise to conduct investigations. The way this ‘total team effort’ is portrayed captures the hearts of the audience.”

Furthermore, Action Channel points out that the series benefits from an episodic structure that makes it easy to watch, combined with a perfectly balanced tone that does not become overly grim. As high-quality entertainment that fits comfortably into everyday life, they note that “Soko Linz” resonates so strongly in Japan because it aligns exceptionally well with local tastes and sensibilities.

The Soko Linz special unit operates in the tri‑border region between Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, tackling a wide spectrum of cross‑border crimes with determination and teamwork. Across numerous complex investigations, from high‑tech cases to serial offenses, the team consistently demonstrates skill, intuition and perseverance.

In the newest season, the focus is on investigators Joe Haizinger and Biggi Obergeschwendter, whose contrasting yet perfectly complementary approaches make them an exceptional duo. Their cases take them into the worlds of tattoo artists, gardeners and model aircraft enthusiasts; they confront undertakers, sacristans, corrupt medical professionals and even rogue artificial intelligence systems. Whether influencers, rowers or cows come under suspicion, and whether the weapon is poison, candlesticks or hooves, Joe and Biggi pursue every lead with intelligence, humor and unwavering tenacity – ensuring that no killer ever gets away.

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