From “Kleo” to Sandmann and Böhmermann: Grimme Awards recognize the diversity of television

If you add up the 19 Grimme Awards that will be presented in the 50th year of the Marler Grimme Institute in 2023, there is a big winner of what is probably the most important German television award. And that is the diversity of the medium of television itself.

It begins with the award from Maren Kroymann for her life’s work, continues with an award for a Sandman show and Jan Böhmermann’s “ZDF Magazin Royale”, then leads to the honoring of special journalistic achievements – including for the RBB political magazine “Kontraste” and from taking up central current topics such as the Ukraine conflict to acknowledging outstanding streaming productions such as the GDR spy comedy “Kleo” with Jella Haase or the Netflix production “Queer Eye Germany”. An overview of all prices for 2023 can be found at www.grimme-preis.de.

Or, to put it in the words of Grimme director Frauke Gerlach: “The winners of the four categories and the special prizes demonstrate the resilience, diversity and innovative strength of German television. They inform us, encourage us to think and act.” From this she derives a mandate for the reform of public service. The reorganization is about the future viability and acceptance of the democracy-securing mandate of public broadcasting. “Every reform step should therefore be guided by serving this goal,” said Gerlach.

Former Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, in her new function as President of the German Adult Education Association, justified the special honor for Maren Kroymann with the pioneering role of the 73-year-old. “She was the first woman to have her own satirical show on ARD. She used this stage to show that women on television are not just accessories, that they are not only entitled to their own voice, but also their own attitude.” She is “not only a pioneer, but also a role model for future generations of media makers “.

The award by the RBB political magazine “Contrasts” “for the continuous investigative research on peripheral issues of right-wing radicalism” is at best surprising given the crisis in the entire public broadcasting system triggered by the RBB scandal. Because the work of the RBB investigative team in terms of self-reconnaissance would have deserved an appreciation.

With the honor of the “ZDF Magazin Royale”, the list of Grimme awards for Jan Böhmermann continues in the ZDF main program – it is already the sixth award. The jury was particularly impressed by the wide range of topics, from the Russian attack on Ukraine to the climate and German hits. “Jan Böhmermann turns it into entertainment with information value – or information with entertainment value, just as you like.”

The Vox series “Zum Schwarzwälder Hirsch – an extraordinary kitchen crew and Tim Mälzer” is featured twice. The format accompanies the construction of an inclusive restaurant.

And why is the Sandman receiving this coveted award for quality television for the first time ever? With the prize, the jury praised the successful modernization of the animation. The selected sandman film is about a recycling vehicle – at the push of a button, something new is created from used and defective things. At the same time, dealing with the important topic of sustainability is praised. Of course, there will hardly be anything more sustainable on German television than the sandman. Because the episodes produced since 1959 are the longest television series in the world.

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