The Best TV Shows on ČT1

A Prague police unit reopens time‑critical cold cases before the statute of limitations runs out, pairing a seasoned loner with a principled young detective to re‑examine old evidence and pursue new leads across real city locations.

Set in Czechoslovakia, the drama follows the lives of its characters against the backdrop of real historical events that shape their personal stories. To evoke period atmosphere, the series intersperses authentic clips from vintage Czechoslovak film newsreels, using their original commentaries or newly recorded historical voice-overs by Vladimír Fišer. A narrator, initially voiced by Vojtěch Kotek and later by Matěj Hádek, provides continuity and reflection, guiding viewers through changing times. Under the guidance of screenwriter Rudolf Merkner, each episode’s script weaves family and individual dramas into key moments of Czech and Slovak history: political shifts, cultural trends, and social transformations from the 1960s onward.

Finding the body of the regional politician Karas, killed in the spirit of medieval torture and carefully arranged in a strange scene, unleash police hunt for a sadistic perpetrator. He puts investigation team in the way of a complex series of murders that shake the local region and criminologists themselves.

1950s. Under the communist regime, a struggling actor joins the KGB as an informant to make ends meet. He quickly finds himself caught up in a dangerous web of deceit and treachery.

The Inspector Hynek Budik as been assigned chief of police in the area on the outskirts of Prague, With detectives Martin Novacek an inexperienced rookie and the inspector Havlik will seek to solve difficult cases of murder.

Barrandov Studios, once one of Europe’s most modern film factories, became both a cultural refuge and a propaganda tool under Nazi occupation, churning out Czech comedies and romances to keep the public distracted while its actors mingled with German authorities. After the war, many of those same stars faced accusations of collaboration, their meteoric Protectorate-era fame tainted by the compromises they made to keep the cameras rolling under shifting regimes.