Overview
- The documentary 'Sportfreunde Stiller – Mit dem Herz in der Hand' was made available in the ARD Mediathek on Thursday, May 28, 2026 and will be broadcast on Das Erste on June 12, 2026.
- Director Thorsten Berrar followed Peter Brugger, Florian “Flo” Weber and Rüdiger “Rüde” Linhof for more than a year, filming studio sessions in Spain, archive material and private moments to show how their long friendship held the band together.
- The film addresses the 2017 break prompted by singer Peter Brugger's burnout and the long period of limited contact before the members gradually reunited and restarted writing and performing together.
- The documentary release coincides with the band's self-produced anniversary album 'Happy Birthday' due June 12, 2026 and a 30th‑anniversary tour with many sold‑out dates through October.
- The ARD rollout includes a six-part podcast 'ARD Ikonen: Sportfreunde Stiller' and a WDR Rockpalast recording of the May 11, 2026 Palladium concert, while the band's management notes roughly two million physical records sold and over 210 million streams for the single 'Ein Kompliment'.