DSDS future without planks: These show successors were unsuccessful

DSDS future without planks
These show successors were unsuccessful

Dieter Bohlen (67) and "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" have been an inseparable symbiosis for almost 20 years. And yet the final end has now been communicated by the broadcaster RTL. So far there has only been speculation about the reasons. One statement only says that they want to rejuvenate the format. Bohlen will also no longer be seen in the "Super Talent". But can the formats also work without the Pop-Titan?

Numerous show battleships did not survive such a change, many of them are now history. These shows swapped the show's face and disappeared from the screens shortly afterwards.

"Bet that..?"

In 1981, entertainer legend Frank Elstner (78) created "Wetten, dass ..?" the most famous German Saturday evening show. In 1987 he handed over the baton to Thomas Gottschalk (70), who – with a brief interruption – moderated the ZDF program until 2011 and wrote an incredible success story. Then Markus Lanz (51) took over, but with very little success. In 2014, after 16 episodes with the native South Tyrolean, it was finally over and "Wetten, dass ..?" ended up in the moth closet.

Main reason for the end of Lanz and "Wetten, dass ..?" ratings were steadily falling. While the show regularly achieved market shares of well over 50 percent in the 1990s – up to 24 million people were watching – it was recently only around 20 percent, in some cases significantly lower. The only exception in recent years: the first Lanz edition with 13.62 million viewers (43.7%) and the last Lanz edition with 9.27 million (32.5%). This year there will be a one-time TV comeback to mark the 40th anniversary of the show. The special edition with Thomas Gottschalk is planned for autumn.

"Musikantenstadl"

In the same year as "Wetten, dass ..?" the "Musikantenstadl" was launched. Until 2005, Karl Moik (1938-2015) hosted the popular hit and folk music show. In 2006, colleague Andy Borg (60) took over and continued the success story seamlessly until 2015. Then they wanted to dramatically rejuvenate the show, but failed phenomenally. Alexander Mazza (48) and the Swiss singer Francine Jordi (43) were hired as moderators.

But until today there has only been one regular episode of the new version of the "Musikantenstadl". Another New Year's Eve edition followed in 2015 with Mazza and Jordi. Jörg Pilawa (55) has been replacing Mazza as the male moderation part since 2016 and has so far performed five New Year's Eve shows. It is not yet known whether regular episodes will be produced again in the future, but it seems rather unlikely.

"The 100,000 Mark Show"

In 1993 the private broadcaster RTL established the very successful game show "Die 100,000 Mark Show" with the presenter Ulla Kock am Brink (59). It was the first show on German television where a sum of this magnitude could be won and is considered the mother of modern game shows in Germany. After 56 episodes, however, it was over for Kock am Brink and she was replaced by Franklin (45). The former magician and talk show host Frank Schmidt, his real name, took over and presented the show 18 more times until the end was sealed in 2000.

The show then slumbered in the RTL archives for around eight years and was only revived in 2008 under the title "The 100,000 Euro Show". But in vain: Inka Bause (52) recorded a regular episode and a celebrity special, both of which did not reach the audience and were immediately reinstated. Nobody could build on the huge success of Ulla Kock am Brink in the 1990s.

"Beat the Raab"

Entertainer Stefan Raab (54) competed 55 times in his own game show "Schlag den Raab" against opponents in a wide variety of categories. There was a not inconsiderable amount of money to be won, but Raab mostly secured the victory with incredible ambition. The viewers rewarded this with strong ratings over a total of nine years. In 2015, parallel to his complete withdrawal from show business, the show ended.

In 2017, however, the new edition "Schlag den Henssler" followed with TV chef Steffen Henssler (48) as the Raab counterpart and the new face of the show. But the success did not materialize here either: After only eight episodes, the broadcaster pulled the rip cord and completely discontinued the format. To this day, however, the concept remains alive and continues to delight the TV audience with "Schlag den Star". Here, however, with ever changing celebrities who compete directly against each other.

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