Overview
- ZDF announced in mid-June that Sarah Tacke will temporarily take over Maybrit Illner’s Thursday 22:15 talk slot for a four-episode run from July 30 to August 27.
- The show will carry Tacke’s name and is billed as analysis-driven and solution-oriented, prioritizing causes, impacts and practical responses rather than staged confrontation.
- ZDF plans intensive social-media engagement and live audience interaction, including QR-code polling before, during and after each broadcast to gather viewer input.
- Cologne-based i&u Studios was commissioned to produce the new format, drawing on the company’s experience with long-running magazine and talk shows.
- Tacke is a trained jurist who leads ZDF’s legal desk and co-presents WISO, and Maybrit Illner is scheduled to return to the same slot on September 3, making this a limited summer experiment that could shape future prime-time political programming.