Stefan Raab announces TV comeback on RTL!

The TV comeback of the decade is perfect! Stefan Raab is returning to television. After a long wait, the entertainer appeared live in front of an audience of millions again on Saturday evening (September 14th) after almost a decade of TV abstinence – and lost a boxing match against Regina Halmich in Düsseldorf. RTL broadcast the event live with much fanfare and including a gigantic fireworks display.

However, the result of the fight between the “Killerplauze” and the former boxing world champion quickly faded into the background when Raab announced: “I’ve decided: I’m going to do shows again.” It starts next week.

New show “You won’t win the million here with Stefan Raab”

The new show will be called “You won't win the million here with Stefan Raab” and will be broadcast on Wednesday at 8:10 p.m. on the streaming service RTL+. It is, so to speak, “the first entertainment quiz competition hybrid show in the world,” as Raab put it. Everything he is good at will be shown in it. Among other things, he will “dissect” the events of the week and there will be a million euros to be won every week. All of this sounded a bit like a mixture of “TV total” and “Schlag den Raab,” two of his old formats from earlier television days.

Five-year exclusive contract with RTL

But it won't stop there. Raab – who for years shaped competitor ProSieben with his shows – will now be a permanent face of RTL. He has signed a five-year exclusive contract, the Cologne-based private broadcaster announced. Plans include “various sensational primetime shows”.

Raab withdrew from public life in 2015

Raab himself seemed to be in a good mood when he announced the end of his break from the screen. In 2015, he surprisingly withdrew from the public eye and worked behind the scenes. Not many people believed that he would ever return in front of the cameras.

Raab explained his change of heart at a fever-dream-like press conference, during which he danced on the table at times, saying that he had found a “consistent philosophy” with RTL. He hinted that he needs freedom to be able to work the way he wants. The broadcast day of his new show also has a certain explosiveness. Wednesday evening is also the broadcast slot for “TV total” on ProSieben – Raab's old show, now hosted by Sebastian Pufpaff. Even though Raab will now be seen online.

Raab descends from heaven to his people

The presenter and his dramaturgical team had built one of the biggest ramps that German television has ever seen for the news of the return of the “Raabinators”. Around Easter, Raab had hinted at the comeback in small Internet clips and declared that he wanted to box against Halmich again – as he had done in 2001 and 2007. In 2001, Halmich broke his nose. This time, Raab complained after the fight of “minor rib damage”.

In recent months, everything that had to do with the fight – and with Raab – had been kept secret. Everything was geared towards the one moment when the television audience would see the now 57-year-old entertainer, who is still admired by many fans, again after almost a decade. So banal, so powerful. Apparently no one knew what he looked like at the time. “As far as I can tell, he will weigh between 85 and 90 kilos,” boxing commentator Frank “Buschi” Buschmann read in the tea leaves.

Shortly after 10 p.m. and after plenty of flashbacks to old Raab shows that weren't particularly newsworthy, the time had come – and the former butcher's apprentice from Cologne-Sülz was received by his audience with almost complete faith. After a countdown, a show staircase rose from the high ceiling of the hall, seeming to lead down from heaven. Then fitness influencer Pamela Reif floated over the audience as an angel on ropes and sang the anthem: “Stefan Raab is back.”

This is what Raab looks like now

Raab himself then slowly and leisurely descended the eternally long ladder to heaven in a white suit and white cape to pathetic music and seemed to have the light in the room under god-like control. With the two rappers Sido and Ski Aggu they sang his new boxing song “Pa aufs Maul”.

Two things were striking: He seemed extremely well trained. And white-haired. But also quick-witted. Halmich complained: “You made it difficult for me. You didn't show your face once.” Raab countered: “I'm not a geriatric nurse. I'm an athlete.” Halmich won the fight, in which Raab was sometimes quite out of breath, clearly on points. He is said to have been the last one between the two.

The Mett is ordered

“I lost ten kilos, I only ate chicken and salad – but I've already bought minced meat for tomorrow morning,” said Raab about his preparations. He also “trained hard.” “Basically, I only trained on the bag for the first four months,” he said with relish. He meant a 45 kilo bag from boxing supplies. But the presenter simply liked the sentence better that way – classic Raab humor.

There were also numerous games of hide and seek. Because of course, if anyone had seen him beforehand or even filmed him, the whole magic would have been gone. “I didn't go out much,” said Raab. He only moved between the company and places he had to go to now and again. “But of course I didn't go to the supermarket or anything like that. I usually do that,” he said.

In the future, he will be able to go to the supermarket again – and in front of the camera.

(Source: Christof Bock and Jonas-Erik Schmidt, dpa)

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