Farewell to TV shows in 2023

"Zervakis & Opdenhövel. Live" and more - Farewell to TV shows in 2023

Thomas Gottschalk (73) celebrated the farewell of the year in German television with his last "Wetten, dass...?" moderation on November 25. Whether and how the legendary ZDF Saturday evening show will continue has not yet been decided. However, several other programs were finally discontinued in 2023.

"I carry a great name"

The guessing show "Ich trage einen großen Namen" had been running since April 1977, but it ended on February 12, 2023. Presenter Julia Westlake (52) hosted the 747th and final edition of the longest-running guessing show on German TV on SWR television, which had been part of the program for almost 46 years.

"Leute Heute"

An era came to an end on September 29: after 26 years, the last edition of the tabloid magazine "Leute heute" flickered across the screens of ZDF. From 1997, Nina Ruge (67) was the main presenter, followed by Karen Webb (52) in 2007. At the beginning of 2023, it was announced that the celebrity show would be discontinued. When asked by spot on news, Anne Gellinek, Head of the News Department, said: "With 'Leute heute', ZDF is parting with a successful format that we have grown fond of." She continues: "We are giving up the program in order to be able to break new ground with the editorial team. People reporting will continue to be available on ZDF - in the extended 'hallo deutschland' program as well as online, in the ZDF media library and on other new playout channels."

"Full house"

In February, Sat.1 launched the afternoon live show "Volles Haus" with the aim of revolutionizing afternoon programming. The new show with Jasmin Wagner (43) and Jochen Schropp (45) as presenters from the first hour was heavily advertised, and the channel also announced that it wanted to have "staying power" with the program. However, the format fell short of the high ratings expectations right from the start, and Sat.1 pulled the ripcord after just a few months. The last edition aired on October 13. Sat.1 editor-in-chief Juliane Eßling explained in a statement: "It is always difficult to end a show that many colleagues have worked on with great passion. I would like to thank our presenters, the editorial teams at the station, our production company Redseven and everyone else who worked together to make 'Volles Haus!' a success." However, this did not work out. Instead, the station opted for docu-soaps in the afternoon.

"Explosiv Weekend"

RTL discontinued the weekend edition of the tabloid magazine "Explosiv" after around three decades. The last edition aired on December 16. The reason for the end was poor ratings. "As the performance of 'Explosiv Weekend' has unfortunately fallen short of our expectations, we have decided with a heavy heart to discontinue the weekend edition of the magazine," RTL News Co-Managing Director Martin Gradl told the industry service "DWDL". "Together with the team, we will concentrate fully on the core brand 'Explosiv' and the development of strong stories for the Monday to Friday editions at 6pm."

"Zervakis & Opdenhövel"

Since September 2021, Linda Zervakis (48) and Matthias Opdenhövel (53) have hosted their weekly infotainment format "Zervakis & Opdenhövel. Live". As the ratings fell short of expectations, the show was removed from primetime on Mondays after just two months and moved to Wednesdays at 9:15 pm. Further slimming measures followed: From March 2022, the original 120 minutes of airtime was reduced to 75 minutes, and in October 2022 it was even cut to just 45 minutes. In November 2023, ProSieben then announced the final end of the once highly advertised format. The 77th and final edition was announced for December 20. In a statement, ProSieben boss Hannes Hiller described this as a "painful decision".

"Cologne 50667"

In November, there was another shock for soap fans: RTLzwei will end the series "Köln 50667" after more than ten years. The following was announced on Instagram: "The production of our long-running daily soap is being discontinued. We are extremely sad about this news, but we can give you a little consolation at this point." New episodes will still be produced, meaning the format will not end until 2024. The last episode is expected to be broadcast in early summer.

"Anne Will"

Anne Will (57) has hosted her political talk show on TV channel Ersten since September 2007. On December 3, 2023, the presenter bid farewell to the most-watched talk show in the German-speaking world - after 553 editions in 16 years and more than 1,300 guests. Her successor next year will be Caren Miosga (54), who presented "Tagesthemen" for 16 years.