Overview
- Andrea Kiewel announced during the live Fernsehgarten on Sunday that the show will present a Christmas/X‑Mas Party on 23 August and that this will be the programme’s first such summer Christmas edition.
- ZDF’s programme listing also labels the 23 August broadcast a “Christmas Party,” confirming the on‑air announcement as a formal episode plan.
- Production details published after the reveal describe a staged 'weihnachtliches Wohnzimmer' on stage 3, artificial snow, DJ Flo Weiß supplying music including “Last Christmas,” a reading by Hugo Egon Balder, and Kiewel saying she will wear red.
- Several musical guests have been named for the episode, including Ross Antony with Paul Reeves, Nik P., Annemarie Eilfeld, The Bad Falling Bostels and Souhaila, and viewers were invited to attend in costume as Nikoläuse or watch on TV.
- The special comes at a sensitive moment for the 40‑year‑old show: recent episodes have hit season‑low ratings after the usual ARD lead‑in was absent, the programme has run a ZDF documentary celebrating its anniversary, and ZDF publicly addressed a controversial on‑air remark by Kiewel that she later regretted.