After 20 seasons, RTL discontinues its casting show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” – and puts Dieter Bohlen, 68, on the jury again to say goodbye. Florian Silbereisen, 40, who took over the job of head of the jury last season, will no longer be there. RTL is developing new program formats with him, according to the broadcaster.
This is three surprising news for the viewers, after all, the separation of DSDS and Bohlen about a year and a half ago did not seem very harmonious. “We have changed, Dieter Bohlen has also changed, I think the break was good for both sides,” said RTL Managing Director Henning Tewes of the German Press Agency.
They want to celebrate the format together one last time, after the 20th edition, DSDS should be over, and the new and final season should start in spring 2023. Only in the past, the 19th season, was the head of the jury Bohlen not included. He, who was often offended with his brusque manner, would not be good, Bohlen now told the German Press Agency: “If I wasn’t allowed to be the Dieter that I am, I wouldn’t have agreed.”
Bohlen’s farewell to DSDS came as a surprise at the time. He was chairman of the jury for 18 seasons, then suddenly RTL said they wanted to fundamentally rebuild the show. In the 19th season, someone else sat in the chief judge’s chair: entertainer Florian Silbereisen. He is no longer there – singer Ilse DeLange and producer Toby Gad are also no longer on the jury. The show was fresh and exciting with these three, said RTL entertainment boss Markus Küttner. “My big thanks go to all three who have enriched the show with their great musical expertise and their flair for musical talent. I am very much looking forward to continuing to work with Florian Silbereisen.”
Silbereisen not only moderates on RTL, but also on other broadcasters. On ARD he regularly presents the hit show “Die Feste” on Saturday evenings, on ZDF he is the captain on the “Traumschiff” – and he also has his own music projects.
Bohlen now says about the interim separation from DSDS: “We never argued, everyone always misunderstood it. It was more like a relationship, a lot of misunderstandings.” Content disputes are completely normal. “Now we talked a lot and I always said that I like doing DSDS and that RTL is my first choice. That hasn’t changed.” For him, “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” is an important part of his life. “Being there for the final season just has to be that way.”