Notable US personalities who never appeared on the original Saturday Night Live (1975) but did (co-)host the German version include: Richard Grieco; Robert Englund; Mel Brooks and Michael Winslow. However, due to the language barrier, they usually only appeared in the monologue and a limited amount of sketches.
The show's concept was inspired by Saturday Night Live (1975) and partially by Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979).
This show sparked a large cult following and also coined phrases that are still in use in the German language to this day.
The first season contained many jokes and sketches involving religion. According to writer Jürgen Urig, this resulted in massive pressure from the Catholic Church, which demanded to stop this. From the second season onward, the authors were not allowed to include religion in the show at all. Nevertheless Stefan Jürgens, Tanja Schumann and Esther Schweins often appeared as monastery members, Brother Gottfried and the singing nuns Fresenia and Martha in the next seasons.
Most of the show's actors started as stand-up comedians and were little known in Germany. Through this show, they were introduced to a broader audience and eventually became household names.