Is what was once Europe’s most successful television show not over yet? On November 25th, the final curtain fell on the cult program “Wetten,dass..?” on ZDF. with presenter Thomas Gottschalk. More than 13 million people watched TV and said goodbye to a format that defined a TV era.
Shortly before the turn of the year, ZDF boss Norbert Himmler is raising hopes that there could be a continuation of the show – the Mainz broadcaster has apparently not said goodbye to it completely. In a conversation with the DPA news agency, the director raved about the last “Wetten,dass..?” edition: “That was a big, nostalgic moment that we experienced there. It still has the strength and power of the format shown once,” said the 52-year-old. He didn’t speak of a final conclusion to the show’s story: “Now we’re taking a pause for thought, based on the James Bond title: ‘Never say never’.”
The fact that the 1984 007 flick is also a remake of the 1965 Bond film “Fireball” may be a side note, but fans of “Wetten, dass…?” can at least hope for a comeback of the show. However, it is unclear how far such considerations have gone and how long the “pause for reflection” will last. In the near future, however, there is unlikely to be a “Wetten, dass…?” return to the Republic’s screens.
Of course, that doesn’t stop speculation about a future Gottschalk successor – as was the case after his first departure in 1992 and the second in 2011. At that time, Wolfgang Lippert (nine programs in 1992 and 1993) and Markus Lanz (16 issues from 2012 to 2014) took over temporarily. Afterwards, Gottschalk was back on stage.
However, the 73-year-old entertainer left no doubt that there would not be a third comeback from him in the cult format. “The director will definitely not call me this time to get me back,” Gottschalk told the “Bild-Zeitung”. “Those in charge are looking forward and tomorrow’s television will look different than yesterday’s. The Saturday evening in front of the television, where the whole family met, no longer exists. My business area has simply been eliminated.”
Instead, the tabloid is now speculating about three possible show hosts who could lead the possible new edition of the TV classic: Giovanni Zarrella, Florian Silbereisen or Barbara Schöneberger. ZDF boss Himmler did not comment on this.
Sources: “Bild” newspaper (1), “Bild” newspaper (2), DPA news agency
