# Pastewka (2005)

> A fictionalized Bastian Pastewka stumbles through Cologne showbiz and family life in this self-deprecating German sitcom.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/33883

## Facts

- Seasons: 10
- Episodes: 97
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Chris Geletneky, Sascha Albrecht, Moritz Netenjakob, Oliver Welke
- Network: SAT.1, Prime Video
- Cast: Bastian Pastewka, Sonsee Neu, Matthias Matschke, Bettina Lamprecht, Cristina do Rego, Dietrich Hollinderbäumer, Sabine Vitua, Martin Semmelrogge
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479842/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: sardonic, witty, irreverent, breezy, cringe-inducing

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard Pastewka as a sharp, self-referential German sitcom whose best seasons are among the country's finest comedy, with a few later seasons seen as weaker.

## Synopsis

Pastewka (2005-2020) is a German sitcom created by Chris Geletneky, Sascha Albrecht, Moritz Netenjakob and Oliver Welke for Sat.1, later available on Prime Video. Bastian Pastewka plays a fictionalized version of himself, a television actor whose career and private life keep colliding in present-day Cologne. Sonsee Neu plays Anne Leifert, Matthias Matschke plays Hagen Pastewka, and Bettina Lamprecht plays Svenja Bruck, all drawn into his awkward schemes and romantic missteps. The engine is simple: the protagonist wants professional respect and a stable love life, and his own vanity and tactlessness wreck both. Each roughly twenty-five-minute episode is a self-contained case of social embarrassment, with recurring characters carrying the continuity across ten seasons. The show is a German television sitcom with the cringe-driven, observational rhythm of American comedy, and it blends deadpan wit with sharp self-mockery of celebrity culture. Its tone is sardonic and breezy, with a warm undercurrent beneath the humiliation. Fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld and Extras will find a similar pleasure in watching a self-absorbed performer stumble through his own life.

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