''Die Wochenshow'' (English: ''The Weekly Show'', lit.: ''The Week's Review'') was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

weekly

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

show that aired on

Sat.1 Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...

and was produced by

Brainpool TV Brainpool TV GmbH is a German television production company located in Cologne. History It was a subsidiary of VIVA Medien AG between 2001 and 2006, until a management buyout in January 2007, now owned by Banijay. The film '' Stromberg � ...

. It first aired on 20 April 1996 and was cancelled early in 2002. The show saw a brief revival starting on 20 May 2011, but only eight episodes were broadcast before it was cancelled due to low ratings and bad press.

Format

The show is a news parody with sketches and recurring characters that often that parody popular celebrities, TV shows and films. It bears similarities to formats such as

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...

and

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 ...

. The title of the show is a play on ''

Die Deutsche Wochenschau , ) is the title of the unified newsreel series released in the cinemas of Nazi Germany from June 1940 until the end of World War II, with the final edition issued on 22 March 1945. The co-ordinated newsreel production was set up as a vital ins ...

'' (a wartime cinema newsreel) and Germany's most prestigious TV news program, ''

Tagesschau (German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, se ...

''. Ingolf Lück has occasionally described the show as a modern version of ', a news parody show broadcast on ARD and hosted by

Rudi Carrell Rudi Carrell (born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar; 19 December 1934 – 7 July 2006) was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters and Linda de Mol, he was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active ...

from 1981 until 1987 and was itself inspired by

History

The original cast consisted of Ingolf Lück,

Anke Engelke Anke Christina Fischer ( Engelke; born 21 December 1965) is a German comedian, actress, voice actress and television presenter. Personal life Born in Montreal, Canada, Engelke moved to Cologne, Germany in 1971 with her German parents. Early ...

Marco Rima Marco Rima (born April 7, 1961 in Winterthur, Switzerland) is a Swiss actor, comedian, cabaret artist and producer. He grew up in the canton of Zug and studied elementary school teaching. He now lives in Oberägeri, canton of Zug. Career In ...

and

Bastian Pastewka Bastian Pastewka (born 4 April 1972) is a German actor and comedian. In Bochum, he first became known to a wider audience in Germany around 1996 as a regular cast member of the comedy show '' Die Wochenshow'' (engl.: The Weekly Show), essentiall ...

. In 1999 Marco Rima was replaced by

Markus Maria Profitlich Markus Maria Profitlich (born 25 March 1960 in Bonn) is a German comedian, actor and voice actor who was a cast member of ''Die Wochenshow'' between 1999 and 2001. He also hosted his own show, ''Mensch Markus'', from 2002 to 2007. Biography Pr ...

and in 2000

Annette Frier Annette Frier (born 22 January 1974) is a German actress and comedian, best known for her work in television and film. She gained popularity for her comedic roles and is recognized for her performances in series such as Danni Lowinski and Mord m ...

replaced Anke Engelke, who left the show to pursue her own projects. in 2001,

Michael Kessler Michael Kessler (born 24 June 1967) is a German actor, comedian and author. Career Theater Kessler had his acting training at the Westfälische Schauspielschule Bochum from 1988 to 1992. Afterwards he began acting roles at Schauspielhaus ...

and Bürger Lars Dietrich joined the cast. The show was a big ratings success from its beginning and still has a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

, but was cancelled in 2002 following a drop in ratings. The 2011 revival cast included Ingolf Lück, ,

Friederike Kempter Friederike Kempter (born 23 August 1979) is a German actress. Her acting credits include films like '' Pandorum'' and '' A Coffee in Berlin'' as well as television shows like '' Ladykracher'' and '' Hauptstadtrevier''. She has played Police Kom ...

Axel Stein Axel Stein (born 28 February 1982) is a German actor and comedian. He was born in Wuppertal and works as an actor in German television and cinema productions. Filmography file:IMG 4576 Axel Stein.JPG, Stein in 2010 * 1999–2008: ''Hausmeiste ...

, ,

Carolin Kebekus Carolin Kebekus (born 9 May 1980) is a German comedian and television personality. The content of her comedy is highly feminist and satirical. Biography Born in Bergisch Gladbach, Kebekus grew up as daughter of a social education worker and a ...

, and

Dominik Kuhn Dominik Kuhn (pseudonym: ''Dodokay''; born September 16, 1969) is a German producer, language artist, comedian, director and musician. He is the owner of the production company STARPATROL Entertainment. He got famous in Germany with Swabian fan ...

.The show's IMDB entry
retrieved 20. December 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wochenshow, Die German sketch comedy television shows 1996 German television series debuts 2002 German television series endings German-language television shows Sat.1 original programming Television series by Banijay News parodies