- Summer, South Africa, and new rules: Everything is different in the jungle
This is the summer of major events. Football fans got the European Championship, and all sports enthusiasts soon after the Olympic Games in Paris. Honorable competitions with noble sportswomen and sportsmen. So, with the next major event on German television - as fans of reality TV would readily categorize it - that's not to be expected. RTL is showing a special season of its Dschungelcamp from Friday (16th August, already a day earlier on the streaming service RTL+). With many competition-proven participants, but probably not always the most honorable behavior.
Because unlike regular seasons, no group of celebrities is moving into the camp, who are a blank slate even for genre fans. Instead, people who have already lived in the camp and have made a name for themselves there. So one can guess what to expect, and the whole setup promises fireworks - not just at the campfire. The show is called "I'm a Star - Showdown of Dschungel Legends" and not the usual "I'm a Star - Get me out of here!"
It all started 20 years ago
The reason for the "Legends Dschungel", as RTL calls it, is the anniversary that the format is celebrating this year, according to the broadcaster. In 2004, 20 years ago, the first season aired and caused a minor uproar because such mistreatment of celebrities was not yet part of viewing habits. Today, that has long changed. The Dschungel is a television classic.
That's why there's now a special season, even in the summer. Dschungel fans are usually conditioned for the New Year. Also, the celebrities are not fighting in Australia for food and their dignity, but in South Africa. That's rather exotic, although a season was produced there in 2022, then due to the Corona pandemic.
The biggest difference, however, is that the Dschungel is not live this time, the format has already been recorded. This brings some changes. Normally, viewers call in to decide which celebrity has to face the trial, who has to leave the camp, and who will get the so-called Dschungelkron. This will of the people from far away Germany is not part of the dramaturgy this time.
It's the first time this is being done, as RTL entertainment chief Markus Küttner confirms. "We've basically thrown the rules out the window," he told the German Press Agency. So who will decide the fate of the celebrities?
Who decides the fate of the celebrities if not the viewer?
"Sometimes we decide, sometimes we leave the decisions to the stars, and in the second week there are even trials where it's decided who stays in the camp and who has to leave," explains Küttner. "That creates a completely new dynamic because the presumed favorite for the crown can now be directly voted out by their fellow campers." That sounds promising. At the same time, the RTL entertainment chief promises "the good old Dschungel feeling".
That should be ensured by the personnel, who have already shown that they can evoke emotions in every direction. For example, candidate Daniela Büchner, reality TV expert ("Goodbye Germany! The Emigrants") and widow of the former camper "Malle" Jens Büchner, was notorious in 2020 for spreading pretty bad mood in the camp. At that time, the moderator duo even asked the audience to spare Büchner in the Dschungel trials.
Sarah Knappik, known as a model, was famously begged on her knees by actor Mathieu Carrière in 2011 during a season filled with turmoil ("Sarah, please leave us!"). Former footballer Thorsten Legat, on the other hand, regularly worked himself up into a rage in his 2016 season and threatened "Kasalla!" (Rhenish dialect for trouble). RTL introduces Giulia Siegel (season 2009) as "known for her conflicts with other candidates and her cigarette consumption in the camp." In short, it's going to get intense.
Back again are the hosting duo Sonja Zietlow and Jan Köppen, along with jungle doctor Dr. Bob. "I was so excited to see them all again, especially Giulia, as it's been over 14 years, and of course, Thorsten too," he says. The jungle doctor, a trained paramedic, also remembers all the participants of the "Legends Jungle." Since 2004, he's been a part of it all. "Each celebrity brings their own unique personality to the show," he says. "Often it's a quirky style, loud, quiet, cheeky, shy, worried, or overconfident."
Nothing more to add. Let the games begin.
The media widely promoted the return of the "I'm a Star - Showdown of Dschungel Legends," drawing attention to the celebrated participants and anticipated drama. Viewers were intrigued to see how the celebrities would interact and how their fate would be decided without viewer votes this season.
