''NightWash'' is a German

television comedy Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first Television in the United ...

show in which young artists and new

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

talents have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience with their program, typically lasting for 7–10 minutes. The series was created by, and is produced and presented by

Klaus-Jürgen Deuser Klaus-Jürgen "Knacki" Deuser (born 28 May 1962) is a German presenter and comedian. He is known for his comedy show ''NightWash''. Biography Deuser was born in 1962 in Kaiserslautern and grew up in Koblenz. After being involved in competitive s ...

. The series made its TV debut on 14 October 2001 on WDR TV; it had existed as a live show since 2000. From 2007 until October 2009, it was broadcast on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

, and since November 2009, it has been aired on digital channel Einsfestival. The original series was set in a coin-operated

laundrette A self-service laundry, coin laundry, or coin wash, is a facility where clothes and some household textiles are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, ...

in the Belgian quarter of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

History

NightWash began as a live show in 2000. Aside from the laundrette scenario, the unusual name is also a reference to the name of the rock band

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

. Deuser was influenced in choosing the format of the show by his experiences in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

comedy scene. The window sill was a stage, with the audience sitting on the benches, which were usually in front of the washing machines. In the show's original version, Deuser stood on a platform next to

tumble dryer A clothes dryer (tumble dryer, drying machine, drying device, or simply dryer) is a powered household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing, bedding and other textiles, usually after they are washed in the washing mach ...

s. Often, unsuspecting customers or passers-byers were incorporated into the program with a comedian. ''NightWash'' was initially shown from 2001 to 2006 on

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...

television and

Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...

(one series, October 2003). From 18 January 2007 to October 2009, the show was broadcast on Germany'

Germany. From 30 September 2007, the television programs were initially recorded in Cologne's Gloria-Theater. Deuser explained at the beginning of the first episode of the new series that the laundry had closed for economic reasons. In spite of the new venue, most of the known elements from the laundrette format were retained. Since changing to German digital channel Einsfestival in November 2009, the show has been recorded in a launderette in Köln-Zollstock, a southern district of Cologne, although live shows have continued to be performed on stage in the Gloria-Theater. Comedians such as Hennes Bender,

Mario Barth Mario Wolfgang Barth (born 1 November 1972) is a German comedian who mainly deals with the interactions between men and women. Early life Barth was one out of six children born to a family in Berlin-Mariendorf. Raised Catholic, he served as an ...

, Heinz Gröning, and Holger Müller made their television débuts on the show.

Shows

TV shows

*'' 'NightWash: The original format, set in a laundry *'' 'NightWash Spin Under the title "NightWash Spin Cycle - the best of the Laundry" EinsFestival has, since December 2009, broadcast highlights of the comedy format show. *'' 'NightWash Special NightWash Special is an evolution of the format where inventor and presenter Klaus-Jürgen Deuser presents a comedian, who plays a half-hour live stage show to the audience. The stage show is filmed for television and broadcast on Comedy Central. *'' 'NightWash Ultra: NightWash Ultra is a special unmoderated format set in the laundry. The moderator Klaus-Jürgen Deuser and Alex Flucht do short transitions between performances in which they are shown, for example when shopping or having breakfast. Recordings of each show are shown on video.nightwash.de and comedy platform myspass.de.

Live shows

*'' 'NightWash Club: In addition to the television broadcast, NightWash tours with a live show throughout Germany. On tour, the show is presented by Klaus-Jürgen Deuser and Alex Flucht. The format has amassed a Germany-wide club system. There are now NightWash clubs in 21 German cities. *'' 'NightWash Live: Since early 2008, every few weeks a NightWash live show takes place in a laundromat in Cologne again, now in the southern suburb of Zollstock (Eco-Express Laundromat on Höninger Weg 134).

References

External links

Official site
* {{IMDb title, id =0424691, title =NightWash
''NightWash''
Einsfestival German comedy television series 2001 German television series debuts 2010s German television series Television shows set in Cologne German-language television shows German stand-up comedy television series Das Erste original programming