RTL Samstag Nacht: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

RTL Samstag Nacht was a comedy show, which ran from 6 November 1993 to 23 May 1998 on the German TV network RTL. RTL Samstag Nacht was the first major comedy show in German television, created after the example of the long-running American show Saturday Night Live and broadcast late on Saturday night. It helped comedy in German television to a breakthrough and was a model for several later comedy shows.

Karl Ranseier was a recurring character featured in fake news reports telling about his death at the end of each episode. The name Karl Ranseier has become a catchphrase in Germany that has led to its own joke category of Ranseiers which are in widespread usage outside of the comedy origin.

Series details

• Title: RTL Samstag Nacht
• Format: Scripted
• Language: German
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1993-11-06
• Final broadcast date listed: 1998-05-23
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: RTL
• Network country: Germany
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 8025
• IMDb ID: tt0106108
• TVDB ID: 82375

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1993-11-06; final listed air date 1994-07-02.
• Season 2: premiered 1994-09-24; final listed air date 1995-04-01.
• Season 3: premiered 1995-09-23; final listed air date 1996-07-06.
• Season 4: premiered 1996-09-21; final listed air date 1997-05-31.
• Season 5: premiered 1997-09-20; final listed air date 1998-05-23.

Source and licence

Adapted from RTL Samstag Nacht on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.