With the Federal Council as the first guest, SRF’s new late-night show celebrates its premiere

Premiere with the Minister of Media: comedian Stefan Büsser will present the new SRF TV program “Late Night Switzerland” for the first time this Sunday evening. The first guest is federal councilor Albert Rösti. According to Büsser, the focus of the show will not be on political satire.

“If an obstetrician is responsible for the birth of a new program, then the Minister of Media is,” 38-year-old Büsser said on Friday about the SRF program ‘Faces and Stories’. Rösti agreed surprisingly quickly – despite his former role as co-initiator of the so-called halving initiative, which calls for a reduction in radio and television rates to 200 francs.

He will also address the topic during the show, Büsser said. However, he says he does not want to saddle the SVP politician with critical questions. It must be a challenge to be a guest on “Late Night Switzerland” – but you also have to be able to leave the stage with your head held high.

Closer to “TV total”

In any case, Büsser sees himself more as an entertainer than as a satirist. For those previously accustomed to being served political satire on Sundays, “a bit of a switch to something lighter is in order,” he said in an interview on “Faces and Stories”: “We are probably completely closer to the TV then with ‘Giacobbo/Müller'”.

According to his own statement, Büsser spoke to Viktor Giacobbo on the phone several times during the preparations for the new show: “I could now add him to the favorites on my mobile phone.” He also wrote to his predecessor Dominic Deville to express his respect. Büsser takes over Deville’s broadcast after seven years.

The live broadcast takes place in the “Kaufleuten” in Zurich. The stage is designed on the model of classic late-night shows, as evidenced by recordings of a test program broadcast in ‘Faces and Stories’. Büsser sits at a large moderator table. He is accompanied by a studio band and Michael Schweizer as a sidekick. Schweizer has been an associate of Büsser for a long time. Together with him and Aron Herz, the lead author of ‘Late Night Switzerland’, he creates the podcast ‘Comedymen’.

Visit to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

On Sunday evening, the satirist Martina Hügi will also participate as an outdoor reporter and the comedy duo Nadia Goedhart and Sandro Galfetti, SRF announced in a communiqué.

In preparation for the new show, Büsser also visited the show of American late-night presenter Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles during his holiday in the US – and was deeply impressed: “There is not a gram of fat too much, it is incredible efficient.” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has been broadcast on the American television channel ABC since 2003. But Büsser has no complexes about that: “They only cook with water – they just have a lot more pans,” is his conclusion.

“Late Night Switzerland” airs on SRF1 at 9:40 p.m. (sda)