Since 2019, Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf have appeared in the game show “Joko
May 2019, 15 minutes for “People who have more to say than we do” With their first issue in May 2019, they set an example. They dedicated the show to “People who have more to say than we do. People who have a message and who deserve a little more attention”. A captain on a sea rescue ship, a homeless helper from the Berliner Bahnhofsmission and an activist who works against right-wing extremism spoke. The spectators were surprised, but mostly enthusiastic about the action.
May 2020, 15 minutes on the subject of sexual harassment of women. Joko and Klaas once again caused a stir with their exhibition “Men’s Worlds”. The moderator duo was not seen on the show itself at the time, instead the author Sophie Passmann took over. She led through various exhibition rooms, all dedicated to one topic: sexual harassment and violence against women. In addition, prominent women such as Palina Rojinski, Jeannine Michaelsen or Stefanie Giesinger reported on their experiences.
September 2020, 15 minutes about the Moria refugee campIn autumn 2020, Joko and Klaas addressed the refugee crisis in Europe and chose the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos as an example. There were catastrophic conditions there for years due to overcrowding, and in September 2020 there was a major fire. In their 15 minutes, Joko and Klaas described the fate of 21-year-old Milad from Afghanistan, who came to Greece by boat. “In the future, we want everyone to know what conditions exist in the middle of Europe. It’s only a two-hour flight away from where Germans go on vacation,” said Joko Winterscheidt at the time.
March 2021, 15 minutes about the nursing shortage Joko and Klaas delivered perhaps the most spectacular show to date in spring 2021. Instead of the planned 15 minutes, they broadcast seven hours in order to depict the working day of a nurse in real time and draw attention to the nursing shortage in Germany. Employees of the University Hospital Münster served as protagonists.
April 2022, 15 minutes about the war in UkraineAround two months after the Russian attack on Ukraine, Joko and Klaas broadcast a live concert from a bunker in Kharkiv. Ukrainian band Selo i Ludy performed three songs including a rendition of Rammstein’s “Du Hast”. Band frontman Alex reported on the unbearable situation in English. “We are doing our best to survive. We are doing our best to protect the borders of the civilized world,” he said.
These actions caused laughter, but Joko and Klaas often use their 15 minutes for the silliness and dares that made them known. In the fall of 2021, each swallowed a tiny pill-sized camera. Viewers could then see live images from inside the body. With the campaign, the moderator duo wanted to draw attention to the importance of preventive medical check-ups. A year earlier, they walked a pig through an art gallery, simply broadcast the program from rival broadcaster RTL, or created a call-in show to debunk corona myths.
Next Tuesday, Winterscheidt and Heufer-Umlauf will play again on ProSieben to win 15 minutes of broadcasting time. Should they win, viewers will be excited to see what they come up with this time: serious message or great fun.
