Karlsruhe – November 02, 2026 -- The 23rd ARD Hörspieltage run from November 5 to 8, 2026, and most of the program is free to attend. This year's motto is "Nothing Serious," with humor as the focus of the German-speaking world's most important audio drama festival.

Venues expand to a museum for the first time

The festival takes place at the ZKM and the HfG, and for the first time at the Kunstmuseum. SWR leads the organization, and Mareike Maage directs it. Actor and DJ Lars Eidinger will play a set at the Kunstmuseum on opening night.

Erfurt – October 30, 2026 -- KiKA's November 2026 streaming lineup opens on 1 November with a 26-episode watercolor series for preschoolers, the complete first season of a time-travel fantasy and Christmas classics.

Three titles arrive on 1 November

"Baum und Biene" follows best friends Baum and Biene through everyday adventures in a watercolor world. All 26 episodes of the animated series stream on kikaninchen.de and in the Kikaninchen app.

Leipzig – October 30, 2026 -- A new MDR documentary is streaming now in the ARD Mediathek, and the people behind one of Germany's biggest post-reunification data scandals appear on camera for the first time. "Der große Stasi-Leak – Helden oder Verräter?" (The Great Stasi Leak – Heroes or Traitors?) airs on MDR-Fernsehen on November 10 at 8:15 p.m.

Cologne – October 30, 2026 -- The new social reality series "Vibes – Find Your Fire" arrives in the ARD Mediathek on November 5, 2026, with ten episodes of 50 minutes each. TV star Motsi Mabuse accompanies nine women who spend twelve days together in a villa on Rhodes.

The participants do not know each other and are at very different points in their lives. What they share is a wish for change, sensuality, closeness to themselves and the courage to give their own needs more room.

Mainz – October 29, 2026 -- A new documentary from ARD Wissen, "Meine Träume – Was verraten sie über mich?" (My Dreams – What Do They Reveal About Me?), is streaming now in the ARD Mediathek. It asks whether people are helpless against their nightmares or can learn to shape them.

Baden-Baden – October 29, 2026 -- SWR's November lineup for ARD Mediathek, ARD Sounds and the ARD Twitch channel starts on November 5 with a documentary series about visibility. It ends with a three-part Sven Hannawald documentary on November 28 and a parasite documentary on November 30.

Berlin – October 28, 2026 -- A four-part documentary podcast called "Die Party ist vorbei" ("The Party Is Over") examines how safe sex-positive parties really are. All episodes arrive in ARD Sounds on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

Mainz – October 27, 2026 -- Visitors to the free SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival in Halle (Saale) can attend talks, workshops, film screenings and a kids' science show from ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk between October 28 and November 1, 2026. The ninth edition runs under the motto "Ich, verbesserlich?" (roughly, "Me, improvable?") and focuses on health. It is one of the largest free science and media festivals, with more than 45,000 visitors.