In this series, Schimanski is a retired police officer living in Belgium with his longtime girlfriend Marie Claire.

Consequently, many of his cases deal with underprivileged victims and upper-class criminals, or at least suspects, which was a rather uncommon concept in West German television shows of that era.

Born and raised in the industrial city of Duisburg in the Ruhr area, Schimanski is a rugged, often unkempt simple man (unsophisticated, yet not unintelligent), who often swears but never backs out of a fight, and doesn't disrespect minorities.

In the original Tatort episodes, he is perennially accompanied by Christian Thanner, a reticent, soft, well-dressed and well-educated detective who often serves as a foil to the gruff Schimanski.

After Thanner is murdered in 1997, Schimanski is called back to Duisburg for the first time by the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office.