End of the 90s: A horror show conquers the German market. We all watched with excitement as Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes captivated us with his enigmatic look – X-Factor: The Unfathomable became a cult in German living rooms. While the series passed by in most countries, it continued to exist here as a scary phenomenon that still gives us goosebumps. The show was so popular that it was brought back exclusively for the German market. We look back.
X-Factor: The Unbelievable is a cult in Germany
Do you remember? X-Factor: The Incredible has been on German TV since the 90s. The show became a favorite with audiences – not least thanks to endless repeats on TV. Fans loved to guess in each episode whether the spooky stories were true or made up. Particularly appealing: the charismatic presenter Jonathan Frakes, who as a former Star Trek actor gave the low-budget production a touch of Hollywood glamour. But the show didn’t just have horror to offer: X-Factor also made people laugh with its trash factor. When amateur actors are haunted by ghosts and demons, it was extremely funny even back then. The mixture of horror and humor was really well received – X-Factor became an absolute cult in Germany.
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Never successful in the USA: X-Factor was not a phenomenon everywhere
As a German TV fan, you might think that X-Factor was as popular all over the world as it was here – but that’s not the case. For some inexplicable reason, the scary format never seemed to be as popular anywhere as it was in Germany. In fact, the show never hit the US like it did here. After just four seasons, X-Factor was canceled in 2002 – the reason: lack of success. Today, the format is virtually unknown in the US – on Reddit, users said that they were only reminded of it by the viral Jonathan Frakes meme. His absurd introductions amused the internet:
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Germany is in X-Factor fever: We are continuing to produce diligently
In Germany, things are very different. X-Factor was extremely popular here even after 2002 – the repeats were shown on RTL2 over and over again. Other US shows were even renamed for the German market – to give the impression of an X-Factor spin-off. However, this was not very successful – the fans wanted the original.
And so RTL2 attempted a first revival of the brand in 2018. New episodes were filmed for the German market under the title X-Factor: The Unbelievable Returns. However, they were not well received: instead of Jonathan Frakes, Detlef Bothe was the presenter. The show was torn apart by critics – to this day fans act as if it never existed. But then the biggest surprise: in the early 2020s, RTL2 dared to try again – this time with cult actor Frakes. Although the show was filmed in Los Angeles, it was produced exclusively for the German market. As before, Frakes and the amateur actors were dubbed for TV.
X-Factor: The Unbelievable – How to stream the show for free
Lucky for you: fans of the old episodes can tune in completely free of charge! The original 4 seasons are available for free on the Joyn streaming service.