Comedian Andrew Schulz has managed to pave a successful career in comedy in a modern way free from the outdated industry gatekeepers that determines the success and exposure a comedian has. By uploading clips of his stand up to YouTube as well as additional comedy-focused content and podcasts, Schulz has been able to grow his audience with millions of fans and become very successful with multiple U.S national and international tours and appearances on very popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience. Not afraid to ‘tell it like it is’ (a phrase so overused in comedy), however he really isn’t as he satirizes and jokes about all races, religions, genders, political ideologies etc. No topic or demographic is off limits (again, very overused but still very true to Schulz).
Due to the current pandemic, comedians haven’t been able to perform on stage to audiences. However, during quarantine Schulz has adapted and brought his talent and style to the comedy news genre. Every week he release a five – six minute video about current events. He has talked about Coronavirus, Black Lives Matter, celebrities getting canceled and manages to slide in references to other current events that aren’t as ‘news worthy’. His rapid style is extremely quick and often you have to rewind or watch a second time to catch all the jokes. This style is supported by two things.
Firstly, the lack of audience. His lack of audience means he doesn’t have to wait for the laugh break to finish before beginning his next joke, he can just begin the next joke. Without an audience and this rapid fire style, it could feel like he is just racing through the script, but Schulz still manages to keep the rhythm of telling jokes on stage but removes the ‘dead air’ that would’ve been a laugh break. Additionally, without the laugh breaks he can fit a lot more jokes into the five minute video than he could with five minutes on stage. Also Schulz manages to have both quantity and quality with his jokes. He manages to get more laughs out of the audience in five minutes than some comedians get out of an audience in an hour.
Secondly, his rapid fire style is supported by his graphics. Graphics are very useful in the comedy news genre, being able to add additional information like references, headlines or visual cues and can also provide a visual punchline for the jokes. Schulz utilities this by having additional visual jokes supporting his already joke-packed script. Like when he visually likens himself to Waluigi from Super Mario Bros. This also enhances rewatchability.
Staying away from the mainstream comedy industry is also evident in his camera work and staging. Most (if not all) satirical news shows often have the host in a black suit sitting behind a desk in a professional TV studio. However Schulz is wearing a simple jeans and shirt combination with the camera quite low and sitting on a comfortable looking lounge chair (with a direct shot of his crotch for some reason…). This more casual and relaxed manner makes it more accessible for people to watch as it doesn’t come across as pretentious or “holier than art though” as satirical news shows and their audience can fall into (Jonathan et al., 2009).
Overall, Schulz is managing to create a satirical news show that is free from the conventions that we normally associate with the genre whilst still remaining just as entertaining, funny and educational.
JONATHAN, G., JEFFREY, P. J. & ETHAN, T. 2009. The State of Satire, the Satire of State. NYU Press.