PublishedSeptember 13, 2024, 05:01
TV LegendStefan Raab is coming back – what has he done in the last 9 years?
About a decade after stepping back from the spotlight, Stefan Raab will celebrate his comeback. With new projects and a newly founded company, he has been busy behind the TV scenes in recent years.
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Stefan Raab announced his TV comeback with this video.
Instagram/therealstefanraabStefan Raab is returning to television with a boxing match against Regina Halmich on Saturday.
Since his retirement in 2015, he has only been working behind the scenes as a producer.
Raab developed numerous formats such as “Das Ding des Jahres” and the “Free European Song Contest.”
On Saturday, he makes his TV return with a boxing match against Regina Halmich (47): In his long entertainment career, Stefan Raab (57) has been responsible for countless TV hits. In December 2015, the TV star made his last TV appearance in the 55th edition of “Schlag den Raab.” Since then, he has only worked behind the scenes on TV projects.
“Das Ding des Jahres”
From 2018 to 2020, the inventors’ show “Das Ding des Jahres” aired on Prosieben. Stefan Raab not only provided the idea but was also the producer. In “Das Ding des Jahres,” inventors competed against each other in duels. In the finals, the audience voted for the best innovation. A team of experts evaluated the inventions, including Lena Gercke (36) and Joko Winterscheidt (45). The third and final season aired on March 29, 2020.
“Headis WM” and “FameMaker”
In March 2020, the sports TV event “The 1st Headis Team World Championship” followed. It was a “headball table tennis” tournament. In this sport, two opponents play a rubber ball back and forth on a table tennis table, using only their heads. A total of six teams competed, each consisting of a headis pro and a celebrity. The host was Elton (53). So far, it has remained a one-time live show.
In September 2020, “FameMaker” premiered on Prosieben. In it, Carolin Kebekus (44), Luke Mockridge (35), and Teddy Teclebrhan (41) had to decide and coach candidates without having heard them sing beforehand. The candidates performed under a soundproof glass dome. Tom Neuwirth (35), who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 as Conchita Wurst, hosted the show. After the first season in 2020, no further episodes of “FameMaker” followed.
“Free European Song Contest” and “Täglich frisch geröstet”
The “Eurovision Song Contest 2020” fell victim to the Corona pandemic. Stefan Raab quickly put together an alternative program. In May, Prosieben aired the “Free European Song Contest,” or “FreeESC,” in prime time. Raab was on board as a producer and called the show “the birth of a new, free European song competition” beforehand.
Only two months after the “Free European Song Contest 2020,” Stefan Raab announced another TV project – but not for his long-time home station Prosieben. The entertainer produced the late-night show “Täglich frisch geröstet” exclusively for the streaming service TVNow (now RTL+) starting in November 2020. After the show even moved to linear television on RTL, it was canceled after 40 episodes in April 2021.
“RTL Turmspringen,” “Wok-WM,” and “Autoball WM”
Three shows from Stefan Raab’s production celebrated comebacks in 2022. However, while the “TV total Wok-WM” (last aired in November 2023) and the “TV total Autoball WM” continued to be seen on Raab’s former home station Prosieben, the legendary diving event transitioned to RTL nearly two years ago. Ten celebrities compete in individual diving, as well as celebrity pairs in synchronized diving. The third edition of the RTL format aired in January 2024. On September 21, 2024, it will return to Prosieben and will be relaunched as “TV Total Turmspringen 2024” produced by Brainpool.
Raab Entertainment instead of Brainpool
Raab has also been involved in the comeback of “TV total” with host Sebastian Pufpaff (47) since November 2021, and as a producer of “Schlag den Star” since 2018. At the end of 2023, Stefan Raab finally withdrew from the company Brainpool and the associated production company Raab TV. The show “American Ice Football” still went on his account in February 2024.
Raab and Brainpool entered into a business relationship in 1998 for “TV total.” Together they founded the subsidiary Raab TV. Since 2024, Brainpool holds the exclusive rights to famous Raab formats such as “TV total,” “Schlag den Star,” or “Schlag den Besten.” While “TV total” and “Schlag den Star” continue to be hosted on Prosieben without Raab’s involvement, “Schlag den Besten” is being aired by RTL with an adapted concept since 2024. The now-defunct “Blamieren oder Kassieren” also moved to RTL.
However, since Raab left Brainpool, he has not been idle. Together with former Prosieben boss Daniel Rosemann (44), the TV titan has a new company: Raab Entertainment. The first project was a show during this year’s football European Championship in Germany. In “Das RTL EM-Studio – All Games, Goals, Emotions,” Jan Köppen (41) and Elton jointly reported on the highlights from the EM matches. Moreover, the game show “Eltons 12,” produced by Raab Entertainment, is set to go into production with host Elton starting in autumn, with the airing expected for winter 24/25.
The Comeback of Stefan Raab
Rumors about a comeback of the TV legend were fueled by Raab himself. In the spring, the entertainer, along with Elton, announced a possible comeback in a initially cryptic Instagram video.
A little later, he dropped the bomb: He had an unfinished business – with former boxing champion Regina Halmich, whom he re-invited to a duel. Halmich responded: “First, the bad news: Stefan is only coming back if I fight him. And now the good news: I have nothing better planned for September 14. We have a fight!”
Stefan Raab is creative in the promo of the boxing match.
Instagram/therealstefanraabAre more Raab formats coming?
As reported by the media magazine “DWDL,” RTL is also planning beyond the boxing match with Stefan Raab. There is said to be “a guarantee from RTL Germany towards the production company of Raab and Rosemann for a guaranteed production volume of at least 90 million euros.”
Furthermore, according to “Bild” newspaper, Raab is reportedly conceptualizing a new format for RTL. “The show is set to air for the first time the Wednesday after the match and will seek a show heir who will follow in Raab’s television footsteps,” reads the content of the prime-time show. Raab is also said to have dedicated himself to his great passion for the ESC and has plans for holding the German preliminary round of the event, according to “DWDL.”
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