Germany's King of Late Night TV Back

Germany's talk show superstar Harald Schmidt, who has been called "God" by the respected Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, makes a comeback on German late night TV Thursday after a one-year sabbatical. Called the "David Letterman" of Germany, Schmidt, who enjoys cult status for his eclectic mix of comedy, political satire and irreverent gags, this time features on public broadcaster ARD after he ditched commercial channel SAT. 1 last year over a contract dispute. Industry insiders say ARD is paying Schmidt as much as $11.7 million a year to host a twice-a-week talk show. Millions of Germans are expected to be glued to their TV sets Thursday night and the country's media has been building up the tension in recent weeks with frenzied speculations on how the one-year "creative break" may have possibly changed the 47-year-old Schmidt.