Two German Fliegender Zirkus specials were produced. They were made for West German television by WDR and are generally treated as a pair of special episodes rather than a separate full series.
The first special was produced in 1971 and broadcast on 3 January 1972. It was performed in German, even though the Pythons did not speak German fluently; translator Thomas Woitkewitsch supplied phonetic transcriptions for the cast. The second was produced in 1972 and broadcast on 18 December that year. It was recorded in English and dubbed into German for the German broadcast.
The project began after German television producer Alfred Biolek encountered Monty Python in Britain and invited the troupe to Germany. The specials were filmed largely in Bavaria and included material created specifically for German audiences, including the Philosophers' Football Match and the Silly Olympics. A common mix-up is counting the two broadcast versions or later English-language releases as additional episodes; the original production consists of two specials.