WDR

Cologne – November 01, 2026 -- Regina Ziegler, the German film producer behind more than 500 film and television productions, died on November 1 in Berlin at the age of 82, public broadcaster WDR announced.

Ziegler founded her own production company in 1973

Born in 1944 in Quedlinburg, Ziegler worked as a production manager before launching her company in 1973. Over the following decades it produced titles including "Solo für Klarinette" with Corinna Harfouch and Götz George, "Der Verleger" with Heiner Lauterbach, and "Die große Flatter" with Richy Müller.

WDR co-productions covered socially relevant themes

WDR Director General Dr. Katrin Vernau said German film has lost one of its most influential figures of recent decades. She cited the WDR co-productions "Der Verleger" and "Jenseits der Mauer" as examples of Ziegler's socially relevant approach. The WDR series "Die Anrheiner", shot in Cologne, was a strong audience draw.

Cologne – September 16, 2026 -- German public broadcaster WDR secured three trophies at the 2026 German Television Award, presented September 8-9 in Cologne, with two of the winning productions made under its lead.

WDR-led drama series "Hundertdreizehn" wins Best Drama Series

The series is built around a Federal Ministry of Transport finding that an average of 113 people are directly or indirectly affected each time a single traffic fatality occurs. It follows multiple characters connected by a catastrophic bus accident. "Hundertdreizehn" was produced by Windlight Pictures and Satel Film in co-production with WDR, ORF and ARD Degeto Film for ARD, with funding from Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, Nordmedia, German Motion Picture Fund and FISA+.

Mainz – September 13, 2026 -- Public libraries across Rhineland-Palatinate will offer free coding instruction to children aged four to seven starting this autumn, under a new partnership between the state's Landesbibliothekszentrum (LBZ) and German public broadcasters WDR and SWR.

Library staff train in September ahead of autumn rollout

Training sessions for participating library staff run from September 21 to 23, 2026, preparing personnel to guide children through the program before public sessions begin in autumn 2026.