''RTL Samstag Nacht'' is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television show which ran from 6 November 1993 to 23 May 1998 on German TV network

RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...

. It was a major comedy show on

German television Television in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. It was home to the first regular television service in the world, named ''Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow''. In 2000, the German television marke ...

, created after the example of the long-running American show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' and broadcast late on Saturday night. It helped several new comedians in Germany to break through and was a model for several later comedy shows. Karl Ranseier was a recurring character featured in fake news reports, mentioning his death at the end of each episode. The name Karl Ranseier has become a

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

in Germany that has led to its own joke category of ''Ranseiers'' which became popular outside of the comedy origin.

External links

* German sketch comedy television shows RTL (German TV channel) original programming 1993 German television series debuts 1998 German television series endings German-language television shows {{Germany-comedy-tv-prog-stub