‘Dinner for One’, a German New Year’s TV tradition, goes online

“Okay, the butler sets the table,” YouTuber Ryan Wass begins skeptically.

In his video “American Reacts to ‘Dinner for One’ (First Watch),” which he uploaded 11 months ago and now has 180,000 views, Wass is watching the beloved cult short comedy on the recommendation of one of his followers. It is part of a long tradition for the creator: on his YouTube channel ‘Ryan Reaction’ Wass films how he meets local German idioms, customs And old movies and TV shows from the perspective of an ignorant American viewer who reacts with confusion and awe.

But ‘Dinner for One’ is no ordinary piece of idiosyncratic German culture. The 18-minute black-and-white comedy about manners, filmed in 1963, is about a quintessential British butler who orchestrates a solo birthday celebration for his 90-year-old employer, the cheerful Miss Sophie (May Warden), whose best friends and usual guests have long since passed away. (The butler James, played by comedian Freddie Frinton, is obliged to fill in for the missing attendees, including finishing each of their drinks.) It’s very British in style and setting, and, apart from a brief German introduction, the action takes place in English.

“I have more questions than before the film started,” says Wass at the end of the screening, burying his face in his hands. “Like, how is this a German tradition?”

‘Dinner for One’ first debuted on the British stage in the 1930s, and Frinton and Warden began performing their version as a duo in 1945. German entertainer Peter Frankenfeld saw it in the early 1960s while looking for material that might resonate with a German audience, and organized a live recording in Hamburg. After being broadcast sporadically over the next few years, the film became a regular part of New Year’s Eve TV programming in the early 1970s, and “Dinner for One” has since been considered a German cultural monument. (Over the decades the tradition has spread: it also plays annually in Sweden, Denmark, Austria and elsewhere.)

In Germany, “Dinner for One” airs on the TV channels of the country’s many public broadcasters, sometimes several times a day on December 31. Merchandise clogs German supermarkets and novelty stores in the months leading up to Christmas: You can find “Dinner for One” tea towels, “Dinner for One” puzzles, even an elaborate fan-made “Dinner for One” board game. Its ubiquity is unrelenting. If you own a TV in the country, you really can’t miss this one.

But what about people who don’t? A generation of cord-cutters has also discovered the charms of this short comedy for themselves, by sharing, analyzing and criticizing the film via social media. The ubiquity of “Dinner for One” on these platforms suggests that the show is more than an outdated holiday custom: It’s a living, breathing tradition carried on by members of Gen Z.

Wass’ experience with “Dinner for One” is far from unique of its kind. Everywhere on YouTube, Reaction videos from ‘Dinner for One’ have become popular and are increasing tens of thousands – and in some cases hundreds of thousands – of views. The most successful videos usually follow Wass’s format: a foreigner, having heard about this special German tradition, records himself experiencing it for the first time. The comment sections are routinely full of Germans happy to see their national tradition being celebrated. “This made me (as a German) so happy. Thank you for your response,” reads a typical comment.

Young viewers have also discovered ‘Dinner for One’ on TikTok and shared their enthusiasm. The show’s simple, theatrical comedy lends itself to short-form video content scenes from the film taken out of context tend to go viral and appeal to a combination of curious first-timers and nostalgic Germans. As the butler continues to drink the wine of the imaginary guests, he becomes increasingly sour and eventually stumbles around in a broad, farcical manner. It’s easy to see the appeal for TikTokers – and also easy to see why it could be so accessible to Germans who don’t necessarily speak English. Everyone understands falling.