In the USA, the show based on the Tic Tac Toe game principle regularly made it into the top ten most-watched television programs in the country under the title “Hollywood Squares”. The lively mix of stars, comedy, prizes and entertaining general knowledge focused on nine celebrities who sat in an oversized, square game board. They were led by the so-called Center Square. In STAR WEEKEND, enfant terrible Hella von Sinnen always took on this leading role, while in the American original, world star Whoopi Goldberg occupied the center square. There is also a very special connection between the two stars, as Hella von Sinnen is the German dubbing voice of Whoopi Goldberg!

But STAR WEEKEND would not have been a game show if there had been no competition between candidates. In response to questions from presenter Marco Ströhlein, the nine celebrities made unusual, funny and interesting claims, which the four candidates had to assess as to whether they were right or wrong. The celebrities used their acting, singing or sporting skills, showed off their extraordinary knowledge or carried out experiments with extravagant props. Two candidates competed against each other in each round. For each correct assessment, one candidate received an X and the other an O. These symbols then lit up in front of the desk of the selected celebrity. A round was considered won when a row of three identical symbols was complete or when a candidate had lit up five celebrity desks with their symbol. In addition to plenty of entertainment, the contestants also had a large sum of money at stake. The game was played in a knockout system over three rounds. The winning candidate in the final could take home up to DM 12,500.