Deutschland sucht den Superstar ("Germany searches for the(!) superstar") is a German casting-show, also commonly known by its initials DSDS. It is the German version of the Idols franchise, produced by and broadcast on RTL.

Season 1

The first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar debuted without a lot of hype in October 2002 on the RTL network. The show's co-hosts were Swiss actress Michelle Hunziker and former soap opera actor Carsten Spengemann, and the jury consisted of music producer, composer and half of former duo Modern Talking, Dieter Bohlen, radio host Thomas Bug, British music journalist Shona Fraser, and the former president of BMG Germany, Thomas M. Stein. (Bertelsmann is the majority owner of RTL, which owns the franchise, show, and network in Germany.)