Schlag den Raab (, German for Beat (the) Raab) was a live game show that was televised by German television channel ProSieben on Saturday evenings from September 2006 until December 2015. A total of six episodes were produced and broadcast each year and featured one contestant competing with media personality Stefan Raab in a number of disciplines for a variable amount of money.
Concept At the beginning of an episode five possible candidates (usually four men and one woman) were introduced to the audience. Each candidate presented him- or herself in a short video clip of one minute (three minutes before the 45th episode). The TV audience then determined the person to compete with Stefan Raab by televoting. One episode consisted of up to 15 games between Raab and the contestant plus one tiebreaker game if the scoreline was even after the fifteenth game. Each episode consecutively won by Raab added €500,000 to the jackpot, e.g. the prize money in an episode following three consecutive Raab victories summed up to €2,000,000. A losing contestant did not receive any prize money at all, regardless of the final scoreline.
The games included sports contests such as biathlon, go-karting, badminton and ice hockey, puzzles, quizzes and various other challenges, each episode featuring different games than the ones before, except for one quiz called Blamieren oder Kassieren, which appeared in almost every episode. The majority of games were played in the studio, a few games had to be carried out outside (like the aforementioned biathlon contest or riding a speed boat in the Cologne harbor). The first game awarded one point, the second game two points and up to fifteen points for the fifteenth game. The show ended once Raab or his opponent gained more than 60 of the possible 120 points. Therefore, the earliest point to win an episode was after completion of the eleventh game (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11=66). Due to this extraordinary distribution of points it was possible to win an episode despite losing the majority of games, e.g. if one was successful the final five games (11+12+13+14+15=65) while the opponent was successful in the first ten games (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10=55).
Six episodes of Schlag den Raab were broadcast each year, three in the first half of the year and another three in the second half of the year. The last episode aired on 19 December 2015. For this last episode, each of fifteen contestants faced Raab in one game. Each contestant who managed to defeat Raab received €100,000 from the €1.5 million prize fund and moved on to a final game. For the final game, all of the contestants who had beaten Raab played against each other for the remaining money. Six contestants beat Raab in their games, so that the winner of the final game received an additional €900,000.
Each episode also featured up to four music artists.
History As the show was broadcast live and the games were of different duration, a single episode generally had no fixed time limit. It regularly ran for four or more hours including commercials. The very first episode ended just after midnight at 00:01 after a runtime of three hours and 46 minutes and was therefore the shortest episode. The 49th and longest episode ended at 02:23, which equals a runtime of six hours and eight minutes.
Raab won 38 of the 54 episodes, not counting the final episode in which Raab faced multiple opponents. He was first defeated in the third episode, when contestant Matthias Göbel won €1.5 million. The highest amount won by a single contestant was €3.5 million (Bernd Stadelmann on 15 December 2012). On three occasions an episode ended after just eleven games – each time Raab being the winner. The fastest candidate to beat Raab was Deaon Maxwell (episode 27) after 12 games. Two candidates, one female and one male, were defeated without scoring a single point. Until 25 April 2015 no woman had defeated Raab.
All candidates except Jan May (episode 12) were younger than Raab on the date of the episode. On 1 November 2014, the episode had to be postponed for the first time in the history of the show, as Raab was suffering from a severe cold. That episode eventually aired a fortnight later, on 15 November 2014.
In June 2015, Raab announced his retirement from television, which ultimately led to the show's cancellation in the same year. The last episode aired on 19 December 2015.
Schlag den Raab was one of the most successful Saturday evening shows in Germany in the late 2000s and early 2010s with audiences of up to four million people.
Awards The show was nominated for the Adolf Grimme Awards category entertainment/special in 2007 and 2008. Schlag den Raab won the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for Best Entertainment Show in 2007, and won a Goldene Kamera in the category Entertainment in 2008.
Episodes Episode Date Prize money Contestant End result Games Winner End of the show Music Episode 1 €0.5M Esther Frericks (30, businesswoman) –70 13 Raab 00:01 Juli, Nelly Furtado feat. Saukrates, Nena feat. Duncan Townsend Episode 2 €1.0M Johannes Rieks (25, student) –74 14 Raab 00:43 Take That, Katie Melua Episode 3 €1.5M Matthias Göbel (31, designing engineer) –48 15 contestant 00:54 Tokio Hotel, Simply Red, Jamelia Episode 4 €0.5M Nils-Heiko Hutter (29, pilot) –65 12 Raab 00:30 Michael Bublé, Joss Stone, Carla Bruni Episode 5 €1.0M Peter Dietrich (39, doctor) –35 14 contestant 01:16 Melanie C, Max Mutzke Episode 6 €0.5M Martin Trautz (38, policeman) –60 contestant 01:21 James Blunt, Sportfreunde Stiller, Monrose Episode 7 €0.5M Sonja Bartelt (33, policewoman) –72 13 Raab 00:17 Max Mutzke, Nicole Scherzinger Episode 8 €1.0M Gene Allen (38, financial adviser) –64 15 Raab 01:01 Peter Cincotti, Room2012 Episode 9 €1.5M Arvid Bollmann (39, teacher) –70 14 Raab 00:57 Stefanie Heinzmann, Ich + Ich Episode 10 €2.0M Jens Ohlemeyer (35, teacher) –66 13 Raab 00:22 Duffy, Gregor Meyle Episode 11 €2.5M Olufemi Smith (29, marketing manager) –55 15 contestant 01:32 Estelle, Leona Lewis Episode 12 €0.5M Jan May (44, sauna worker) –62 13 Raab 00:31 Sarah Connor, Katy Perry, Pussycat Dolls Episode 13 €1.0M Ole Bischof (29, judoka) 3–63 11 Raab 00:08 Rosenstolz, Stefanie Heinzmann, Grace Jones Episode 14 €1.5M Markus Kapries (39, doctor) –72 13 Raab 00:48 James Blunt, Queensberry Episode 15 €2.0M Marcus Gangloff (39, teacher) –72 14 Raab 00:43 Max Mutzke, James Morrison, Mando Diao Episode 16 €2.5M Markus "Oku" Okuesa (32, teacher and musician) –62 14 Raab 01:28 Silbermond, Milow, Lady Gaga Episode 17 €3.0M Nino Haase (26, chemistry doctorand) –57 15 contestant 01:34 Daniel Merriweather, The Black Eyed Peas, Sportfreunde Stiller Episode 18 €0.5M Hans-Martin Schulze (24, pharmacy intern) –52 15 contestant 00:41 Stefanie Heinzmann, Tokio Hotel, Jan Delay Episode 19 €0.5M Oliver Wojahn (41, professor) –71 13 Raab 00:56 Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Pixie Lott, Ich + Ich Episode 20 €1.0M Amelie Mooseder (24, student) –71 13 Raab 00:41 Xavier Naidoo, Robbie Williams, Some & Any, Gossip Episode 21 €1.5M Torsten Reichan (31, pilot) –63 12 Raab 00:03 Aura Dione, Alicia Keys Episode 22 €2.0M Hans Martin Wismar (29, emergency surgeon) –41 14 contestant 00:46 Gentleman, Cheryl Cole Episode 23 €0.5M Thorsten Engelmann (28, controller) –63 14 Raab 01:00 Toni Braxton, Lena, Die Fantastischen Vier Episode 24 €1.0M Thorsten Knaack (29, teacher) –48 15 contestant 01:35 Phil Collins, Kylie Minogue, Juli Episode 25 €0.5M Ria Sabay (25, student) 0–66 11 Raab 00:26 Mando Diao, Christian Durstewitz, Aloe Blacc Episode 26 €1.0M Heiko Schumacher (28, logistician) –27 13 contestant 00:41 LaVive, Cee-Lo Green Episode 27 €0.5M Deaon Maxwell (33, student) –17 12 contestant 00:08 Max Mutzke, Bruno Mars Episode 28 €0.5M Alexandra Stegmann (27, management consultant) –73 13 Raab 00:37 Milow, Natalia Kills Episode 29 €1.0M Tobias Rieder (29, army doctor) –61 14 Raab 01:33 Jessie J, Avril Lavigne Episode 30 €1.5M Gil Kwamo-Kamdem (30, policeman) –60 contestant 01:49 Lenny Kravitz, Udo Lindenberg feat. Inga Humpe, Lena Episode 31 €0.5M Klaus Hermann (39, insurance broker) –37 14 contestant 01:14 Rosenstolz, Blue Man Group & Tracy Bonham, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Episode 32 €0.5M Oliver Wallkötter (38, soldier) 0–66 11 Raab 00:25 Flying Steps, Zaz, Flo Mega Episode 33 €1.0M Alexander Bitsch (32, customs dog handler) –72 15 Raab 02:05 Caligola, Stefanie Heinzmann, Unheilig Episode 34 €1.5M Reint Janssen (30, sport scientist) –64 14 Raab 00:22 Rebecca Ferguson, Roman Lob, Der König tanzt Episode 35 €2.0M Peter Grünberg (43, pediatrician) –66 14 Raab 00:50 Mandy Capristo, Jason Mraz, Amy Macdonald Episode 36 €2.5M Manuela Kurrat (30, detective superintendent) –71 14 Raab 01:38 Lena, Joss Stone, Gossip Episode 37 €3.0M Mario Anastasopoulos (44, joiner) –68 13 Raab 00:59 Lana Del Rey, Die Fantastischen Vier, Udo Lindenberg Episode 38 €3.5M Bernd Stadelmann (27, farmer) –50 15 contestant 00:58 Taylor Swift, Deichkind, Seeed Episode 39 €0.5M Björn Schmitz (37, sport scientist) –73 14 Raab 01:31 Xavas, Ellie Goulding, Max Raabe Episode 40 €1.0M Andreas Mai (32, physicist) –70 13 Raab 00:43 Robbie Williams, Lena, Leslie Clio Episode 41 €1.5M André Bergermann (37, steelworker) –65 14 Raab 01:03 Gentleman, Hurts, Zaz Episode 42 €2.0M Pio Suh (38, lawyer) –62 13 Raab 00:45 Birdy, Ivy Quainoo, Miley Cyrus Episode 43 €2.5M David Fritsch (32, detective superintendent) 6–72 12 Raab 00:43 Katy Perry, Eminem, Adel Tawil Episode 44 €3.0M Anish Pulickal (32, social worker) –56 15 contestant 01:54 Placebo, Casper, Thomas D Episode 45 €0.5M Michael Jentzsch (38, teacher) –73 13 Raab 00:44 Lorde, Christoph Maria Herbst, Marteria Episode 46 €1.0M Caroline Gessner (25, Bundeswehr officer) –61 12 Raab 00:36 Bastille, Clean Bandit Episode 47 €1.5M Maximilian Heizmann (31, ranger) –70 13 Raab 00:37 Lily Allen, Mando Diao Episode 48 €2.0M Liane Weber (28, fitness trainer) –68 14 Raab 01:16 Maroon 5, Kiesza Episode 49 €2.5M Peter Meiners (34, media analyst) –46 15 contestant 02:23 Die Fantastischen Vier, The Script Episode 50 €0.5M Jenna Timm (25, detective) –65 12 Raab 00:58 Cro, Zaz, Charley Ann Schmutzler Episode 51 €1.0M Jan-Marco Montag (31, student) –74 14 Raab 01:36 Herbert Grönemeyer, Ella Henderson Episode 52 €1.5M Maria Kleinebrahm (27, doctor) –59 15 contestant 01:24 Stefanie Heinzmann, Ann Sophie Episode 53 €0.5M Robert Klauß (30, PE teacher, football coach) –73 13 Raab 01:13 Joss Stone, Sido ft. Andreas Bourani Episode 54 €1.0M Markus Schulz (32, precision mechanic) –71 14 Raab 01:17 Louane Emera, Lena, Justin Bieber Episode 55 €1.5M 15 persons from the audience - 15 - 01:55 Stefan Raab & the Heavytones
Related series Three other series have been created with the same format as Schlag den Raab:
Schlag den Star Schlag den Henssler Schlag den Besten
International versions