''NightWash'' is a German

television comedy Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...

show in which young artists and new stand-up comedy talents have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience with their program, typically lasting for 7–10 minutes. The series was created by, and is produced and presented by

Klaus-Jürgen Deuser Klaus-Jürgen "Knacki" Deuser (born 28 May 1962) is a German presenter and comedian. He is known for his comedy show '' NightWash''. Biography Deuser was born in 1962 in Kaiserslautern and grew up in Koblenz. After being involved in competitiv ...

. The series made its TV debut on 14 October 2001 on

WDR TV Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

; it had existed as a live show since 2000. From 2007 until October 2009, it was broadcast on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...

, and since November 2009, it has been aired on digital channel

Einsfestival ''One'' (stylized as ''one'') is a German free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the German public-broadcasting consortium ARD. Managed since October 2005 by Westdeutscher Rundfunk on behalf of ARD as a whole, the channel was orig ...

. The original series was set in a coin-operated laundrette in the Belgian quarter of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

History

NightWash began as a live show in 2000. Aside from the laundrette scenario, the unusual name is also a reference to the name of the rock band Nightwish. Deuser was influenced in choosing the format of the show by his experiences in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

comedy scene. The window sill was a stage, with the audience sitting on the benches, which were usually in front of the washing machines. In the show's original version, Deuser stood on a platform next to

tumble dryer A clothes dryer, also known as tumble dryer or simply dryer, is a powered household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing, bedding and other textiles, usually shortly after they are washed in a washing machine. Many dry ...

s. Often, unsuspecting customers or passers-byers were incorporated into the program with a comedian. ''NightWash'' was initially shown from 2001 to 2006 on WDR television and Das Erste (one series, October 2003). From 18 January 2007 to October 2009, the show was broadcast on Germany'

Germany. From 30 September 2007, the television programs were initially recorded in Cologne's Gloria-Theater. Deuser explained at the beginning of the first episode of the new series that the laundry had closed for economic reasons. In spite of the new venue, most of the known elements from the laundrette format were retained. Since changing to German digital channel

in November 2009, the show has been recorded in a launderette in Köln-Zollstock, a southern district of Cologne, although live shows have continued to be performed on stage in the Gloria-Theater. Comedians such as Hennes Bender,

Mario Barth Mario Wolfgang Barth (born 1 November 1972) is a German comedian who mainly deals with the interactions between men and women. Early life Barth was one out of six children born to a family in Berlin-Mariendorf. Raised Catholic, he served as a ...

, Heinz Gröning, and Holger Müller made their television débuts on the show.

Shows

TV shows

*'' 'NightWash: The original format, set in a laundry *'' 'NightWash Spin Under the title "NightWash Spin Cycle - the best of the Laundry" EinsFestival has, since December 2009, broadcast highlights of the comedy format show. *'' 'NightWash Special NightWash Special is an evolution of the format where inventor and presenter Klaus-Jürgen Deuser presents a comedian, who plays a half-hour live stage show to the audience. The stage show is filmed for television and broadcast on Comedy Central. *'' 'NightWash Ultra: NightWash Ultra is a special unmoderated format set in the laundry. The moderator Klaus-Jürgen Deuser and Alex Flucht do short transitions between performances in which they are shown, for example when shopping or having breakfast. Recordings of each show are shown on video.nightwash.de and comedy platform myspass.de.

Live shows

*'' 'NightWash Club: In addition to the television broadcast, NightWash tours with a live show throughout Germany. On tour, the show is presented by Klaus-Jürgen Deuser and Alex Flucht. The format has amassed a Germany-wide club system. There are now NightWash clubs in 21 German cities. *'' 'NightWash Live: Since early 2008, every few weeks a NightWash live show takes place in a laundromat in Cologne again, now in the southern suburb of Zollstock (Eco-Express Laundromat on Höninger Weg 134).

References

External links

Official site
* {{IMDb title, id =0424691, title =NightWash
''NightWash''

German comedy television series 2001 German television series debuts 2010s German television series Television shows set in Cologne German-language television shows German stand-up comedy television series Das Erste original programming