Stefan Raab boxes against Regina Halmich: What’s behind the hype surrounding his comeback?

If you want to understand how Stefan Raab wanted to become the greatest entertainer of his time 25 years ago, the following anecdote may help: In 2000, Christoph Daum was the designated head coach of the German national football team. Shortly before he started work, rumors circulated that the coach was using cocaine. One of the players: Bayern president Uli Hoeness, who started the ball rolling in an interview with a not-so-well-hidden comment.

Suddenly the lawyers were also on the mat. That is why Hoeness felt compelled to say the following sentences at a press conference: “Anyone who continues to claim that I said that Daum uses drugs (…) and therefore should not be allowed to become national coach will be prosecuted by me.”

At that time, Stefan Raab had already been on the air for over a year with his program ‘TV Total’, broke viewership records on Monday evening and was on everyone’s lips. And responded to Hoeness’s threat as only Raab responded at the time: he stood on a truck, accompanied by cameras, drove it through Cologne and shouted into the crowd through a megaphone: «Attention, attention, residents of Cologne! Uli Hoeness said Christoph Daum uses drugs.”

In the evening millions of people sat in front of their television. And laughed or complained about Raab’s insolence.

Stefan Raab once pushed the boundaries of what could be said on TV. He stood in front of celebrities in “Raabigrams” and insulted them. He invented TV programs on an assembly line and took private television to another level. He dipped his toes into the entertainment industry by turning the Eurovision Song Contest into his show – first as the author of Guildo Horn’s ‘Guildo hat euch lieb’, then as the singer of ‘Wadde hadde dudde da’, and finally as the brains behind It was the celebrated victory of Lena Meyer-Landrut.

Raab produced viral content before there were social networks for it to go viral. Also because the biggest stars in the world came to ‘TV total’ when they had something to sell.

Over the years, the television clown became a great entertainer, who undoubtedly lost hope at some point. Every star wears out.

Nevertheless, he had built a huge fan base by the time he unexpectedly ended his career and retired from television completely overnight. Very few TV faces achieved this before and after him.

This is still divided into two parts and can be traced back quite well to his ESC successes.

On the one hand there are the fans from the very beginning: DThe supporters who were at his feet when Guildo Horn and himself went where it hurt with their performances. These are the fans who, as young people, argued with their parents about how long they could stay up on Monday nights to watch “TV total,” and who to this day watch the best clips on YouTube after crappy days at the office to keep their mood up again.

On the other hand, there are millions of people who fondly remember being very entertained by Raab shows. They are the ones who became Raab sympathizers at the latest when Lena Meyer-Landrut won the ESC.

You need to know this status if you want to understand why the hype over Raab’s possible comeback has escalated in recent days.

You might think it’s a stupid idea that Raab is now thinking of a comeback. It should be noted that many of his past jokes seem completely outdated today. But you can’t forget: Raab was never ‘just’ a comedian or ‘just’ a presenter. He was a producer and mastermind behind his own shows for decades.

No one will seriously be stupid enough to underestimate Raab. Of course, this TV genius could still have a brilliant idea that will shake up German television; especially since Raab is not much over 70 years old like Thomas Gottschalk. Raab is only 57.

The fact that many people are now almost hyperventilating about this does not only speak for Stefan Raab. It also speaks against today’s private television, where – apart from Joko and Klaas – you haven’t seen new, good, funny, entertaining shows for a long time.

One question remains unanswered at this point: Wadde really wants a guy there, Stefan Raab? As of today, we know that Raab will actually be seen again in September: he wants to get back into the boxing ring and box against Regina Halmich. It’s not like Raab that he could end his abstinence from the public ‘just’ for this one fight. Nevertheless, as far as we can tell in April, his comeback is the biggest TV surprise of the year.