''RTL Samstag Nacht'' was a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television show which ran from 6 November 1993 to 23 May 1998 on German TV network RTL. It was the first major comedy show in

German television Television in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. It was home to the first public television station in the world, named ''Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow''. In 2000, the German television market h ...

, created after the example of the long-running American show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' 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 A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

in Germany that has led to its own joke category of ''Ranseiers'' which are in widespread usage outside of the comedy origin.

External links

* German comedy television series RTL (German TV channel) original programming 1993 German television series debuts 1998 German television series endings German-language television shows {{germany-tv-prog-stub