In November, Thomas Gottschalk again invites you to an edition of "Wetten, dass..?" on Saturday evening. He's already chatting about what requirements he thinks guests need to meet - and who's falling through the cracks.
Entertainer Thomas Gottschalk has a clear idea of who will be invited to his next "Wetten, dass...?" show. "I'm often at odds with the editors. I want guests who were talked about yesterday and who will be talked about tomorrow, many young colleagues now have different standards," said the 72-year-old from Mediengruppe Bayern. "But I don't want 'B-celebrities' and 'reality stars', but timeless icons. They're getting harder and harder to find." But he did not say who it could be this year.
The next edition is scheduled for November 19th. Last year, Gottschalk celebrated a comeback with the Saturday evening show - after that, ZDF announced that it would broadcast one edition of the classic in 2022 and 2023. "I believe that people, now more than ever, long for community experiences that they can share with others," said the moderator from Kulmbach. "Bet that..?" obviously “still appeals to all age groups and social classes. A TV miracle in times like these”.
Almost 14.5 million people watched the program last November, which corresponded to a market share of 46 percent. Guests included ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, who played their old hit "SOS" live with Helene Fischer. Gottschalk moderated the show from 1987 to 2011 with a short break and welcomed a number of stars from music, film and sport - a highlight was the appearance of Michael Jackson in 1995.
Gottschalk announced his departure after contestant Samuel Koch was seriously injured in a stunt and left paraplegic. After a few programs with Markus Lanz, ZDF stopped the show. Gottschalk then tried several other TV formats, but with modest success.
(This article was first published on Saturday, October 22, 2022.)
