Germany’s most successful TV show comes to an end

BERLIN (AP) ― Germany’s most successful TV show is ending after a 33-year-run.

“Wetten, dass..?” ― or “Wanna bet?” ― combined celebrity chat and everyday people performing improbable feats, from opening beer bottles with steamrollers to identifying animal dung by its smell.

Seen roughly six times a year and always on a Saturday night, the show aired more than 200 times, and attracted over 20 million viewers in the 1980s.

But audiences grew tired of the formula, and viewership dropped as criticism grew. Foreign guests expressed bewilderment at the antics of the contestants and host, and a horrific on-air accident in 2010 that left a man paralyzed helped hasten its demise.

Public broadcaster ZDF says guests on Saturday’s final show will include American actor Ben Stiller and former figure skating champion Katarina Witt.