Why Only One Season?
That’s a question we get asked a lot at MHz Choice, and there are a variety of answers depending on which particular series is being referred to. Many times, the answer is simply because that’s all that’s been produced! (We love Twin, for example, but there is no second season.) Also, the majority of our programs do not follow the standard American production pattern of a set number of new episodes every year. Shows like Detective Montalbano, Tatort: Borowski and Magellan premiere two new (feature-length) installments per year, give or take, in their countries of origin. Other series, like Beck, can have a gap of four or five years between episodes. There are also times when a subsequent season of a series may not yet be available to us in the U.S. And lastly, sometimes a series that we love just doesn’t land with our subscribers so we forgo pursuing subsequent seasons due to lack of subscriber interest. So, as you can see, it can get complicated! As a general rule, if you see something on iMDB indicating more seasons of a series, that doesn’t necessarily translate to how our seasons are structured.
Below are some of the most commonly asked questions regarding seasons and our (hopefully) helpful answers!
What’s up with the number of seasons of A French Village? Why are they listed differently on IMDb than how they are on MHz Choice?
A French Village is a great example of why it’s always best to go by the number of episodes rather than by the number of “seasons”. Although A French Village was originally produced in 12-episode blocks, some of the earlier episodes aired in France in six-episode blocks. Thus, the number of “seasons” can vary depending on whether one is referring to a six-episode or 12-episode grouping. For the purposes of MHz Choice, the first five seasons of A French Village were grouped together in 12 episodes blocks, for a total of 60 episodes. Episodes 61-66 are grouped together as Season 6 on MHz Choice, and the final six episodes are now streaming on MHz Choice as Season 7. Rest assured — we have ALL 72 episodes of this fantastic series on MHz Choice! And before you ask, there are no more episodes planned in this series. We’re sad about that, too!
Why are there only two episodes in Beck Season 4?
After Beck’s third season ended in 2006, there was a gap of three years before the series returned with two feature films, which premiered theatrically in Sweden in 2009 and 2010. These two movies constitute Season 4, before the series returned to its usual eight-episode format with the fifth season in 2015/16.
How many seasons of Beck are there?
Beck Season 7 (Episodes 39-42) premiered on MHz Choice in December, 2021. No premiere date yet for Season 8 (Episodes 43-46, the latest episodes) – so stay tuned!
Why are there only three seasons of Bukow & König on MHz Choice? IMDb says there are a lot more!
The Bukow & König episodes are part of the Polizeiruf 110 series – basically the East German version of Tatort, a banner under which different regions of Germany produce one or two movies a year featuring their own sets of detectives, like Freddy and Max in Tatort: Cologne or Klaus Borowski in Tatort: Borowski. The episodes starring Charly Hübner as Alexander Bukow and Anneke Kim Sarnau as Katrin König began in 2010, even though Polizeiruf 110 itself started in 1971 – a year after Tatort. Right now we have three seasons (21 episodes) with this fantastic team. New episodes are not yet available to us – we’ll keep you posted.
Why does is look like there is an extra season of Bukow and König on Amazon Prime? Click here for details.
Why are there only three seasons of Captain Marleau? IMDb lists four seasons!
We’re going to sound like a broken record (remember those?) when we say: Count the episodes, not the seasons – because we group the episodes differently on MHz Choice. Our Captain Marleau Season 1 consists of 12 episodes, which includes all of the French “Season 1” and most of the episodes from the French “Season 2” as well! The MHz Choice Season 2 consists of the next eight episodes, so that’s 20 of the 25 episodes which have been produced through 2021. Episodes 21-25 are packaged as Season 3. Season 4 will premiere in 2023. Stay tuned!
I see more episodes of Crime Scene Cleaner have been produced! Why aren’t they on MHz Choice?
We love Schotty. The first 27 episodes of Crime Scene Cleaner are available to stream on MHz Choice here.
Subsequent episodes are not available for us to license at this time.
Why is there only one season of Detective Montalbano?
When we launched MHz Choice, we decided to group all the episodes (26 at the time) together as a single season. Of course, that means that every time a pair of new Montalbano episodes is produced, they’re added to the end of the existing season rather than forming their own (very short) new season. So, rest assured, we have every single Detective Montalbano episode that’s been produced. All 37 Detective Montalbano episodes are available on MHz Choice. Sadly, the producers have announced that no more episodes of this fine series will be produced.
The same logic applied to Nicolas Le Floch (12 episodes in total) and the 17-episode first “season” of Tatort: Cologne.
Why is there no Wallander Season 2 on MHz Choice?
At this time, we only have the rights to stream Seasons 1 and 3 of Wallander starring Krister Henriksson on MHz Choice.
There are episodes missing from Detective Ellen Lucas Season 1! Why?
A number of our viewers have commented that episodes seem to be missing in our presentation of Detective Ellen Lucas Season 1. They are exactly right. We were not able to acquire the rights to the original German episodes 2 and 4 (no one is – the rights are tied up in a legal dispute) and so there are some things missing in the narrative arc of the series. Sorry about this, folks. There’s nothing we can do. But we can tell you this – there are no gaps in our presentation of Season 2 and you’ll see the rest of the episodes in the order they originally aired in Germany.
Want to get MHz Choice Premiere announcements sent to your inbox?
Sign up for our free newsletter here!
MHz Choice is available in the U.S. & Canada. Free 7-day trial then $7.99/mo.
Subscribe at mhzchoice.com.
