Status: 04.01.2024, 18:14 PM
By: Jonas Erbas
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As Erkan and Stefan, Florian Simbeck and John Friedmann became famous nationwide at the end of the 1990s. Now the duo has made it to reality TV: Together they fight for victory in the "Forsthaus Rampensau".
Munich – As soon as "Promi Big Brother" is over, the next big reality format is already waiting for die-hard trash TV fans: With "Forsthaus Rampensau Germany", the first season of the German offshoot of the Austrian show of the same name starts on Friday (8 December) on the streaming service Joyn. It is reminiscent of a mixture of "Die Alm" (ProSieben) and "Das Sommerhaus der Stars" (RTL), because nine prominent duos compete for a total of 25,000 euros in prize money at a self-catering hut in the Alps.
18 more or less famous personalities in very different constellations are involved, including Matthias Mangiapane (40) with his mum Dagmar (61), Jasmin Herren (44) with her new love Philipp Bender (23) and Florian Simbeck (52) with John Friedmann (52), known as Erkan and Stefan. For the two comedians, such shows are completely new territory.
Not as Erkan and Stefan: Florian Simbeck and John Friedmann at the "Forsthaus Rampensau"
The Munich-based company once made three of its own feature films as Erkan and Stefan, and now the comedy duo is heading to the "Forsthaus Rampensau" – not in their signature roles, however, but as themselves: Florian Simbeck and John Friedmann. At the premiere of the Joyn format on 27 November, the two prove that they can create a good atmosphere even without a gold chain and jogging suit. In the world of reality stars, they seem to be very well received: people laugh, joke and celebrate.
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But how did it come about that the two are now filming their first reality format after a decades-long career? "We've been told you're under surveillance, but with not so many freedoms. It's going to be entertaining: less fingers in the wound, but really having fun," Florian Simbeck reveals. The two were convinced by the fact that games should be in the foreground in the "Forsthaus Rampensau".
Quarrels and unknown faces: The hurdles of the Erkan and Stefan stars in the "Forsthaus Rampensau"
But it didn't stop at fun and games. Because even the Erkan and Stefan actors showed their ugly side of the reality show business at some point: "There were moments when it went too far. Certain things you just don't do," John Friedmann suggests.
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His colleague has a similar view: "As a comedian, you pay attention to words, to nuances. And when someone just talks stupid, you can't help but say: Excuse me, stop!" Which "Forsthaus Rampensau" scenes the two are referring to exactly, they are not yet allowed to reveal.
As Erkan and Stefan, Florian Simbeck and John Friedmann have been making the masses laugh for years – now they appear for the first time on reality TV, in the Joyn show "Forsthaus Rampensau Germany". © Nadine Rupp/Joyn & mix1/Imago
They became aware early on that the initial peace in the shared hut would not last forever. The participants themselves were "very well cast", praises Florian Simbeck. In the "Forsthaus Rampensau", "very different characters" meet – an interesting experience: "You were there live to see how such a script developed itself."
"Not all trash is the same," agrees his long-time companion, indicating that the two are quite satisfied with their reality debut – although there was a big hurdle at the beginning, as John Friedmann finally reveals: "I didn't know a single one," the 52-year-old says about the other participants. His companion felt the same way: He had only heard of Gina-Lisa Lohfink (37) before, but did not recognize the former GNTM participant.
The fact that not everything always goes as planned in trash TV was also shown in "Promi Big Brother": A playback glitch revealed Jürgen Milski's (60) real singing. Sources used: Interview with Florian Simbeck and John Friedmann (conducted on 27 November 2023), Joyn press release on "Forsthaus Rampensau Germany"