RTL Samstag Nacht(1993)

RTL Samstag Nacht was a German comedy series that aired Saturday nights on RTL from 1993 to 1998. Modeled after American Saturday Night Live, it became the first major comedy show on German television and paved the way for a new wave of sketch and variety programming. The series featured recurring characters and sketches, most notably Karl Ranseier, who appeared in fake news segments announcing his own death at each episode's end. The character became so iconic that "Ranseier" entered German pop culture as a catchphrase and spawned its own category of jokes that persist today. RTL Samstag Nacht proved instrumental in establishing comedy as a mainstream television format in Germany and influenced countless shows that followed.