\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOK, the butler\u2019s setting the table,\u201d the YouTuber Ryan Wass begins, skeptically.<\/p>\n
In his video \u201cAmerican Reacts to \u2018Dinner for One\u2019 (First Time Watching),\u201d<\/a> which he uploaded 11 months ago and now has 180,000 views, Wass takes a look at the beloved cult comedy short on the recommendation of one of his followers. It\u2019s part of a longstanding tradition for the creator: On his YouTube channel \u201cRyan Reaction,\u201d Wass films himself being introduced to local German idioms<\/a>, customs<\/a> and old movies and TV programming<\/a> from the perspective of an unwitting American viewer who responds with confusion and awe.<\/p>\n But \u201cDinner for One\u201d is no ordinary slice of quirky German culture. The 18-minute, black-and-white comedy of manners<\/a>, filmed in 1963, is about a quintessentially British butler orchestrating a solo birthday celebration for his 90-year-old employer, the cheery Miss Sophie (May Warden), whose closest friends and customary guests have all long since passed away. (The butler, James, played by the comedian Freddie Frinton, is obliged to fill in for the missing attendees, including quaffing each of their drinks.) It\u2019s very British in style and setting, and, apart from a brief German introduction, the action plays out in English.<\/p>\n \u201cI have more questions than I did before it started,\u201d Wass says as the screening comes to an end, burying his face in his hands. \u201cLike, how is this a German tradition?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cDinner for One\u201d first debuted on the British stage in the 1930s, and Frinton and Warden started performing their version as a duo in 1945. The 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 taping in Hamburg. After airing sporadically over the next several years, the film lucked into being a fixture of New Year\u2019s Eve TV programming in the early \u201970s, and \u201cDinner for One\u201d has been considered a German cultural landmark ever since. (Over the decades, the tradition has spread: It also plays annually in Sweden, Denmark, Austria and elsewhere.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In Germany, \u201cDinner for One\u201d screens on the TV channels of the country\u2019s many public broadcasters, sometimes several times a day on Dec. 31. Merchandise clogs German supermarkets and novelty shops in the months leading up to Christmas: You can find \u201cDinner for One\u201d tea towels, \u201cDinner for One\u201d puzzles, even an elaborate, fan-made \u201cDinner for One\u201d board game. Its ubiquity is unrelenting. If you own a TV in the country, you really can\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n But what about people who don\u2019t? A generation of cord-cutters has also discovered the charms of this comedy short on their own, sharing, analyzing and critiquing the movie across social media. The ubiquity of \u201cDinner for One\u201d on these platforms suggests that the show is more than an antiquated holiday custom \u2014 it is a living, breathing tradition that\u2019s being carried forward by members of Gen Z.<\/p>\n Wass\u2019s experience with \u201cDinner for One\u201d is far from the only one of its kind. All over YouTube, \u201cDinner for One\u201d reaction videos<\/a> have become popular, racking up tens of thousands<\/a> \u2014 and in some cases hundreds of thousands<\/a> \u2014 of views. The most successful videos tend to follow the format established by Wass: A foreigner, having heard about this quaint German tradition, records themselves experiencing it for the first time. The comment sections are routinely packed with Germans delighted to see their national tradition celebrated. \u201cThis made me (as a German) so happy. Thank you for reacting,\u201d reads a typical comment.<\/p>\n On TikTok, too, young viewers have been discovering \u201cDinner for One\u201d and sharing their enthusiasm. The show\u2019s simple, theatrical comedy lends itself to short-form video content, meaning scenes from the film posted out of context<\/a> have a tendency to go viral, appealing to a combination of curious first-timers and nostalgic Germans. As the butler continues to drink the imaginary guests\u2019 wine, he gets more and more soused, eventually stumbling around in a broad, farcical way. It\u2019s easy to see the appeal for TikTokers \u2014 and also easy to see why it might have been so accessible for Germans who don\u2019t necessarily speak English. Everyone understands falling down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n