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ARD’s ‘David und Goliath’ Tops Primetime on Debut With 2.81 Million Viewers

Early reviews emphasize a stark portrait of staff stress in Germany's hospital system.

Overview

  • The two-part WDR/ARD drama opened Wednesday with a 12.9% market share, leading the primetime slot despite a relatively modest reach.
  • Viewership skewed older, with a 6.1% share among 14–49-year-olds, and ARD has not reported Mediathek streaming figures.
  • The series centers on psychotherapist Dina Schwarz, who is assigned to support roughly 4,000 employees at a fictional Essen clinic.
  • Shot inside functioning hospitals, the production focuses on overwork, burnout and mental-health pressures among medical staff.
  • Critical reactions diverged, with outlets such as Stern and Tagesspiegel praising its impact while FAZ criticized it as inauthentic; episode two airs on 1 October after both films went online-first on 17 September.