The show was broadcast in the same time-slot on Sunday, 6.40 pm between 1985 and 2005. From 2005 the show starts at 6.50 pm. Most episodes take place on the Thursday before airing, but are shot three months earlier. The producers sometimes use short-term shootings to include important events. For example, several references to the 9/11 terrorist attacks were made on episode 824 (broadcast on 16 September 2001).
It was planned to shoot the show in Bavaria in the beginning, but the producers chose a filming location in Cologne. Nevertheless, it is set in Munich, Bavaria.