Maybrit Illner and Sandra Maischberger are the longest-serving, hard-working and toughest representatives of their profession.

Illner has been talking on ZDF since 1999, Maischberger on Erste since 2003 (before that on n-tv).

Her stamina can only be compared to Markus Lanz, who has been on the air on ZDF since 2008.

The three are still there, more or less as Mrs. ARD and Mrs. and Mr. ZDF.

The others from the Talkmaster Urphalanx will soon all be gone.

Reinhold Beckmann backed down eight years ago when the ARD talk stations were highly competitive, Frank Plasberg stopped at the turn of the year, and now Anne Will announces that the talk show named after her in the first end of 2023 is over.

Then she will have presented her program for sixteen years and has sat on the queen's chair for talk show hosts for twelve years: the performance on Sunday evening is considered a premium course.

It has the best ratings, with the "crime scene" the best lead and is considered the most important television stage, especially for politicians.

When Merkel asked for an explanation session

When Chancellor Angela Merkel felt compelled to give an extraordinary explanation, she knocked on Anne Will's door.

Merkel's successor, Olaf Scholz, who is similar in temperament and hesitancy, thinks the same way.

On such occasions, Anne Will's program always got and gets something particularly state-supporting, journalistically tame.

As a rule, the moderator did not act boldly, although one cannot accuse her of not having any critical momentum.

But over time, one got the impression that it was enough for Anne Will at this point, just as it was enough for Frank Plasberg with "Hart aber fair" and it was about time that someone else took over.

NDR, which is in charge of the slot, and ARD cannot yet say who that is in the case of Anne Will.

They are said to be in talks.

“2024 is a new start!

Then it's time for change, other projects, new perspectives," says the moderator.

The NDR reports that one is talking to Anne Will about new projects.

So we can probably expect that she will stay on the trigger for her home public broadcaster elsewhere.

As for Sunday: Maybe Sandra Maischberger has time for ARD on a third evening a week?

Poaching Lanz from ZDF would be far too expensive and superfluous.

Time for a newcomer.