Mr. Heufer-Umlauf, from April 22nd you will present the consumer magazine “Expert for everything” on Pro Sieben. I recently received a push message from an online retailer: “We thought we would like our selection of grinding wheels.” I have no idea about grinding wheels. Can you help me? The good thing is that I have to have no idea about it yet, so I have this program. It is the only way to commit to an institution that forms me. There are universities for people who have a somewhat more straight line, but borderline cases like me fly out of the system. I got into community service after the hairdressing training and then landed directly at Viva, so I was completely forgotten by the education system. If it turns out that grinding wheels are funny despite their dry name, you might make it into the show. But I do not believe in it, because the editorial team chooses topics that should bring me new knowledge on the one hand, but on the other hand it should also be funny. For example, it says: “After a few hikes, the new leather boots from Dirk Schulz were broken. The online retailer does not respond to his complaint-and he turns to the BR consumer team.” How would you proceed? You could see: Where did Dirk Schulz want to go, what was his goal? Could he perhaps reach this goal in another way than to hike through the area and then complain about the shoes? Or: Can you make hiking shoes yourself from what the cat carries in the house? You ended your show “Late Night Berlin” at the beginning of seven years. You also justified this by the fact that the time of late night shows is basically over. Do not make it too easy to blame the whole genre when you have the air out? At least the way we understood Late Night has been overhauled by new narrative methods and possibilities – this combination of the recruitment of the daily events and entertainment. You could definitely update this and be committed to working through certain processes. But that is more journalism than entertainment. Entertainment is important to me. Activating external content to say goodbye have described that each event is now being processed live on X and Tikkok, so no one is waiting for the jokes of a late night show. But you can also use such platforms to find the best gag authors or try jokes. So we did it for a long time, and it was totally fun. But now I just feel like something new. And the authors have the chance to write for a new show with other creative guidelines. I want to leave this predictability of the Late Night Show format, I have just done that for a very long time. A strength of its formats have always been the timeless recordings that also work very well on YouTube. Does this actually lead to conflicts with Pro Sieben who would like to make their streaming provider Joy big? I think you cannot achieve Joyn’s success by preventing the culture, i.e. to log out of things that make your way, but this has been done, for example, with the YouTubers from “World Wide Living Room”, who have also found their way to Pro Sieben via their production company Florida TV, and have now largely run on Joyn and have been insulted by their community since last summer. That was another idea because the entire product was brought to Joyn. With us it runs primarily on television and is then spread through Joyn and YouTube. This is something different with an online solo show. For me, many did not even know that there was a summary of my videos once a week and the “Late Night Berlin” was called. They only knew individual, short contributions from social media. And so that should also be on the new show that hopefully the story is fun when you look at it for an hour, but also work small closed ideas snacking. If it feels strange that you can reach more people with a spontaneously designed Laberpodcast than with weeks prepared Saturday evening shows? If there were only other successful podcasts, it would feel strange. But because it is my own, I get along well. I find this general success of podcasts so satisfactory because he finally refutes this completely unfounded argument that I have had to listen to for 20 years: that people no longer feel like listening. The radio broke this claim. This is being covered with trailers and small impulses because it means: Who should listen to it if someone only talks for an hour? Now there is more talking on the radio. And at the same time the opposite takes place on Tikkok. You have to get this two information together. I am pleased that podcasts are successful at the same time as Tikkok. “I admire Frank Elstner the most of everyone,” says Klaas Heufer-Umlauf. Developing with your television production company Florida Entertainment, new formats for you and Joko Winterscheidt, instead of simply producing formats that run successfully abroad. Why is that important to you? It’s just fun. We are essentially a team that has been working together for many years. And you have to work hard that you briefly have these meetings in which television is as you always imagined: you meet in a room where everyone can say what they like. There is this moment before a new show. You know that everything you say is thrown away 20 more times. But the path is a lot of fun. And what role does your podcast partner Power-Schmitt play in these meetings? He has been by your side since Viva times and, as the managing partner of her company, probably has a lot to say today. Unfortunately, he has not wanted to give us an interview for years. It is usually the case that we throw ideas through the area for five hours, while Power-Schmitt sits in the corner with a petrified expression and is completely unfathomable for us. And at the very end he says: let’s do this. Or: let’s leave. And then the meeting is over. In both statements he has exactly the same facial expression. “I would then stand as enthusiastic as Angela Merkel at the carnival,” says Heufer-Umlauf of the moderation of programs that he does not like. By Joko Winterscheidt, moderator Frank Buschmann wrote: The odds of “Ninja Warrior” on RTL were much better. Is there respect in the industry when you invent shipments, or in the end only do the odds count? We don’t have much to do with the industry. But every show that you make with pleasure has its justification, also “Ninja Warrior”. Buschmann and Jan Köppen do that great. Personally, I just enjoy the process of thinking. But there are also people who just like to moderate. The largest TV legends are not necessarily the aim of thinking out shipments. Frank Elstner always did this and thus also found private television, I admire it the most of everyone. But then Thomas Gottschalk came and conquered the hearts by storm. He didn’t come up with anything, but ended up with the golden helicopter on the roof of the Böblingen town hall. Then the sun opened. That was wonderful. You just have to do what you enjoy – and not what you think people want to see. Otherwise there is only shit. How much are you happy? I am happy about our successes, but not that other programs have fewer good odds. The meadow is wide enough. We are making programs that we enjoy – and then just have to hope that they also enjoy the viewers. On other days, more people have recently “understand fun?” Looked as our show, that’s all right. I just don’t want to moderate a program where celebrities play with murmurs just because someone is quite sure that this likes to see a certain number of people. That would be to look at me too. Then I would be as enthusiastic as Angela Merkel at the carnival.
