Wetten Dass is Germany’s biggest Saturday night entertainment show, attracting around 10 million viewers (at its high point, it drew 23 million – in terms of figures, it remains Europe’s most successful show). It’s been on air since 1981, runs from between 2 and 4 hours, and centres around celebrities betting on outrageous stunts performed by ordinary people.
The first time I saw it, I thought, “The Germans are crazy.” I remember the show – it was this one, in which one of the bets was whether these lovely people could guess the animal by smelling it’s faeces:
So when I stumbled across this clip of Will Arnett talking about his recent experience on the show, I could sympathise:
Wetten, Dass…? is due to come off the air soon, due to a number of reasons, among which is the fact that ratings have dropped since the show’s popular long-term host Thomas Gottschalk quit.
Read more about ZDF pulling the plug on Wetten, dass…? at The Local.
Filed under: Berlin, Germany, Humour, Life in Berlin
