2026 German Television Award: “Night of the Creatives” Kicks Off the Awards Ceremonies in Cologne
The “Night of the Creatives” kicked off the 2026 German Television Awards ceremonies on Tuesday evening. At Cologne’s Flora, outstanding achievements were honored in eleven creative categories spanning fiction, entertainment, and news. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is a partner of the German Television Award.
The evening, hosted by Jan Köppen, focused on the creative crafts behind successful television productions: Special achievements in directing and screenwriting, cinematography, editing, music, and production design were honored. The awards were decided by a jury of experts chaired for the first time by journalist and producer Stephan Lamby.
The winners of the “Night of the Creatives”
Fiction
- Best Direction in Fiction: Bettina Oberli for “naked”
- Best Screenplay, Fiction: Rolf Basedow, Nicole Armbruster, and Gabriela Sperl for “Die Nichte des Polizisten”
- Best Cinematography (Fiction): Theo Bierkens for “Sturm kommt auf”
- Best Editing, Fiction: Anna Nekarda for “Die Nichte des Polizisten”
- Best Music (Fiction): Stefan Will and Robert Henke for “Crooks” and “Banksters”
- Best Production Design, Fiction: Matthias Müsse and Pierre-Yves Gayraud for “Die Nibelungen – Kampf der Königreiche”
Entertainment
- Best Direction, Entertainment: Carsten Seibt for “Silvester-Schlagerbooom 2026 Live – The Wonder Light Show”
- Best Script in Entertainment: Christian Ehring and Dietmar Jacobs for “extra 3 from October 23, 2025 – Dispute Over the Cityscape: Merz Rants”
- Best Production Design (Entertainment): Katia Convents and Paola von Griesheim for “Let’s Dance”
Information/Documentary
- Best Cinematography, Information/Documentary: Eike Köhler, Kim Kristin Mauch, and Björn Kurtenbach for “Mine Divers – The Hard Road to the Bundeswehr Elite”
- Best Editing in Information/Documentary: Xenja Kupin for “Rise & Fall of 1860 Munich”
The awards ceremony will continue on Wednesday, September 9, with a major TV gala at the Confex Center in Cologne. Barbara Schöneberger will host the evening, during which the winners in 18 additional categories will be announced. RTL will broadcast the gala starting at 8:15 p.m. The nominees also include three productions funded by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW: The drama series “Hundertdreizehn” is in the running with a total of four nominations. In addition, “Euphorie” and “WM 1994 – Eleven Heroes, One Nightmare” are nominated.
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