Overview

• ZDF’s flagship talk returns from a four-week break on Tuesday, 26 August, at 22:45 CET and resumes its regular Tuesday–Thursday schedule.
• Guests for the comeback episode are SPD parliamentary leader Matthias Miersch, RND editor-in-chief Eva Quadbeck, Bild journalist Paul Ronzheimer, ZDF Washington chief Elmar Theveßen and CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen.
• The discussion centers on Germany’s external agenda, Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil’s trip to Ukraine, SPD calls for tougher sanctions on Israel, U.S. reactions to President Donald Trump’s policies and Russian perceptions of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with the feasibility of a Putin–Zelensky meeting assessed.
• The program continues its no‑audience production approach adopted during the pandemic, and it averaged about 1.59 million viewers with a 16.2% market share in the first half of 2025.
• RND’s midyear analysis underscores persistent U.S./Trump emphasis across major talk formats and notes Theveßen as one of the most frequently booked experts.