Raab is back - but does anyone still want to see him?

Update, 19 September, 3:38 pm: If you want to know what Raab's first show was like, here's my review:

He's back again. Stefan Raab. He is celebrating his retirement with a new show, "Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million bei Stefan Raab". Its concept? Unclear.

But we do know that Raab wants to "dissect" the week's events and stop contestants from winning a million in prize money. In a first video, Raab talks about "the world's first entertainment-quiz-competition-hybrid-show" in a lively and lively manner, showing both his moderation area and a kind of backdrop shop as well as the games area.

But see for yourself!

But see for yourself:

If you ask me, it sounds a bit like a mixture of "TV Total" and "Schlag den Raab". Typical for him; he already took elements from his previous shows "Vivasion" and "Ma'kuck'n" for "TV Total". The show starts next Wednesday at 20:10. Not on ProSieben, the presenter's former home, but on RTL+, the streaming service of the German private broadcaster.

That's probably the point. According to Raab himself, RTL made him an offer he couldn't refuse. In fact, RTL wants to attract more than 10 million people as streaming subscribers by 2026 - and Raab is supposed to help with this.

Elton as a decoy: Raab's hesitant return

I admit it: when Elton rudely interrupted the retirement of his former boss last March, I too became curious. Raab, cosily fishing somewhere on a lake in the Alps, is asked by Elton to come back to showbiz.

"You've been away for almost ten years now. It's about time you did something again!" grumbles the eternal show intern. But Raab is "not in the mood". Unless Elton somehow manages to find nine million new followers for Raab's previously completely inactive Instagram account - in just three days.

The mission fails. Raab is nevertheless persuaded to make a comeback. After all, there is still an open score to settle with former world boxing champion Regina Halmich. He has scheduled the rematch - the second, by the way - for 14 September. Nobody really wants to believe it at first. Some even doubt that the man in the fat suit is actually Stefan Raab. Since his last appearance in October 2018 in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, no one has seen him in public.

Then it goes quiet around Raab again. For months.

Raab's comeback: lots of hype - but little pull

Now we know: The videos - including one with influencer Pamela Reif at fitness bootcamp - were no joke, but part of perhaps the best PR stunt in German TV history. It was never about the rematch. It was about announcing Raab's new show. In typical Raab fashion, with lots of fanfare and gigantic fireworks. A ratings success, by the way, writes Blick.

Raab is and remains a media professional.

"I'm curious to see if Raab has a pull effect," writes my editorial colleague Lorenz Keller the very next morning, "I'd be surprised too. But of course I don't subscribe to the streaming service just for that."

"Well... There it is."

I agree with Lorenz. Raab was simply away from the show stage for too long to have the aforementioned pull. Nine years, to be precise. Most people probably think the same as Lorenz and me: "Interesting, let's see if Raab can still do it, but I'm not going to buy an RTL+ subscription just for that."

The man who had a lasting impact on the German TV landscape for over 15 years already seemed worn out and burnt out in 2015. He hardly even prepared for interviews with big Hollywood stars anymore. His departure was overdue.

The next generation was already taking over the limelight during Raab's creative period. Joko and Klaas in particular. With formats such as "Das Duell um die Welt", "Circus HalliGalli" or "Wer stiehlt mir die Show?", they offer a similar mix of humour and absurd challenges in which it is not the candidates but the presenters who become the protagonists - just as Raab did for years.

Stefan Raab on RTL+: Nostalgia coup or calculated risk?

It is not known how much RTL is paying for Raab's involvement. But I doubt that the financial outlay will translate into a significant increase in plans. Unless the new show actually gets fantastically good reviews.

From RTL+'s point of view, Raab's involvement is probably still a calculated risk. Raab is a well-known name that arouses nostalgia and curiosity. His "Bei Anruf Bohlen" videos, which were uploaded to YouTube after his retirement, have an average of over one million views. That's saying something.

On the other hand, Raab has not been on screen for almost a decade. The television audience has changed since then. Raab, for example, is known for staging himself in a cult-like manner. Almost like a cult leader. "So beautiful", a woman breathes languorously in the video with Michael "Bully" Herbig in the beauty clinic, "I've seen Stefan Raab".

Whether his brand of humour and entertainment still works?

For Raab himself, the return is probably more of a personal decision. A challenge to see whether he can once again produce a successful show. Financially, Raab should have long since made ends meet anyway. He was correspondingly anarchic in the press conference after the boxing match: "A whole generation grew up without good entertainment," explained the entertainer and musician at heart. When he left the show stage, some of them were still five years old. Now they are fifteen. "That's why I also see it as an obligation to our country to do something again."

When it comes to PR, nobody can fool Raab.