Overview
- ZDF aired the New Year’s installment “Das Traumschiff – Madikwe” on January 1 with storylines involving suicidal ideation.
- Berliner Morgenpost and NRZ denounced the treatment of the subject as trivializing and described the episode as a scandal.
- Coverage highlighted a lack of substantive on‑screen help or therapeutic guidance, noting only a brief helpline notice at the end.
- Reports quoted the Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe und Suizidprävention warning that prominent, emotional portrayals can lead to imitation known as the Werther effect.
- Stern said a trigger warning would have been appropriate, no response from ZDF was reported, and outlets provided crisis hotline information for readers.