Should roles in series be filled with consideration for the widest possible variety of actors? TV critic Kalkofe thinks little of it. Rather, the skills of the actors should be in the foreground. It is true diversity “when it no longer matters who is in front of the camera”.

The TV critic Oliver Kalkofe believes that a politically motivated depiction of diversity in film and television is wrong. “True diversity would be when it no longer matters who is in front of the camera and it doesn’t matter if the person is male, female, something else, old, young, fat, tall or short,” the comedian said . “But the question is: is he or she good? Or is he or she funny, for example?”

Kalkofe primarily referred to international productions that deliberately cast diverse roles – for example the recently released Amazon Prime production “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” or the successful Netflix series “Bridgerton”. This shows figures in London high society in the early 19th century. They were cast with actors and actresses of different skin colors without regard to historical correctness. Kalkofe finds this too desirable. Diversity must be a matter of course and it should not be given extra consideration as to whether there are enough women or black people.

According to the satirist, it’s good that it’s no longer just old white men who are in the media. Everything should be possible, but: “In order to live diversity, it shouldn’t be talked about anymore, but the feeling should be given that everyone has the same chance, period,” says the 56-year-old television professional.

In addition to his satirical format “Kalkofes Mattscheibe”, Kalkofe is also known for the Tele5 series “The Worst Films of All Time” (“SchleFaZ”), which he has moderated with comedy author Peter Rütten since 2013. The tenth season of the series, in which the two TV experts take apart selected trash films with black humor and colorful disguises, started on September 9th with the action strip “Hai-Alarm auf Mallorca” from 2004.

(This article was first published on Saturday, September 10, 2022.)