Eurocops

Eurocops is a European television crime TV-series produced between 1988 and 1992. It is a co-production between seven European TV stations in which each station produced a number of episodes which were then pooled, dubbed and otherwise adapted when needed and broadcast by all participating stations, a format used earlier in the German crime series Tatort. The participating networks were ZDF from Germany, ORF from Austria, SRG from Switzerland, RAI from Italy, TVE from Spain, Antenne 2 from France and Channel 4 from the United Kingdom.

A direct consequence of the 'pooled production' format was that all episodes by one particular network had a strong local -even national- feel and were distinctly different from the episodes produced by other networks. Not only were they filmed in the network's own country with local actors, but they were also written by local screenwriters, thus reflecting that nation's specific taste for crime dramas. With national networks at that time still relying on self-produced programs, a big part of Eurocop's allure was that it offered viewers in one country a first-hand look at what crime series in other countries looked like.