In an era when politics and the culture war debates often spill into entertainment, comedian Charlie Berens is betting that audiences are hungry for something else — a break from the outrage and a room united by laughter.
Berens told Fox News Digital he has no interest in adding to the polarization that has driven so many people away from one another. He would rather use his comedic talents to bring people together.
“I think there’s enough polarization going on right now to where I just don’t have much interest in that,” he said. “I have interest — more in finding ways to bring us together, like out to a club or out to a theater or whatever.”
DIRECTOR KEVIN SMITH SAYS PODCASTING MEDIUM BECAME ‘A WASTE,’ LOST ITS SOUL WHEN IT BECAME POLITICAL
“I think when you get people in the same room, and you get people who may not connect on other things, connecting over something just gives more touchpoints to know that even if someone has an opposite view to you, they’re not the devil, you know? You gotta have common ground.”
Born and raised in Wisconsin alongside his 11 siblings, Berens explores in his newest special, “Neighborly,” how growing up in a large Midwestern Catholic family has shaped how he sees the world.
“My first special was sort of about the Midwest and this is more about the world from a Midwest guy’s perspective,” he said. “It’s also got a lot, it goes deeper into my family. I love gambling with my grandma. I love fishing with my family, and it’s kind of just a lot of stories about growing up. I’m one of 12 kids, so I’m mass-produced — I got that going for me.”
Berens’ first exposure to comedy didn’t come from his first open mic set or competing for laughs at the school lunch table — it came from sitting around his family’s kitchen table.
He explained to Fox News Digital that, with such a big family, every dinner turned into a stage.
“If you’re going to say something, you better make sure what you’re saying is good because it’s either going to make people laugh or people are going to use it to make themselves laugh at you.”
COMEDIAN JEFF DYE ON LEAVING LOS ANGELES AND THE POLITICS DRIVING COMEDY’S NEW DIVIDE
“When you’re having dinner in a family of 12… the food isn’t the only thing getting roasted,” he joked. “Everybody is just going after each other. So it’s fun… it’s a fun way to grow up. I don’t think I’m the funniest one in my family — in fact, not by a long shot — but it makes for an entertaining way to grow up.”
While most of the roasting between one another was typically off the cuff, the comedian shared a Berens family Christmas tradition they call “gimmicks,” which takes place alongside their “Secret Santa” gift exchange.
“You pick one person, obviously be nice to that person, get that person a gift and then you kind of say what you did for them on Christmas Eve. But the thing we all really look forward to is after you do that, then you get to… roast that person,” he told Fox News Digital, adding that it’s his favorite part of the holiday season.
Before launching his stand-up comedy career, Berens worked in a field not typically associated with laughs — journalism, where he says he infused his reporting with a comedic touch.
JIM GAFFIGAN SAYS COMEDY AUDIENCES ARE TIRED OF POLITICAL DRAMA AND JUST WANT TO LAUGH AGAIN
“I started working in local news and doing YouTube news early on in my career. And that was sort of like the early 2010s, mid 2010s… where there was this reshaping of journalism, and comedy journalism… It was always a mix between traditional journalism and kind of like infotainment, almost where you try to make the news engaging to get people to watch,” he explained to Fox News Digital.
“A lot of what it was, was sort of headline and then adding some punch lines in there or some banter,” the comedian continued. “I think that kind of got me into the sort of structure of comedy — of like headline, punch line, headline, punch line — it just gets you in the rhythm of writing one-liners… So maybe that helped ease me into the comedy.”
As comedy adapted to an increasingly digital world, specials shifted from being released on vinyl records, CDs and television, to primarily existing on streaming services and websites like Netflix and YouTube.
While that evolution has helped comedians expand their reach, Berens argued that rapid technological advancement may also be distracting people from what matters most.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
“If you just look at technology… how technology is moving exponentially, and you have artificial intelligence now. So it touches on sort of the absurdity of what that is and that’s happening on one end, but on the other end of it, you have taking your grandma to the casino,” he contrasted. “Just the observations of something as simple as that, you can find… technologically speaking, we’re always looking for more and more and more, but what we have right in front of us is so great and so beautiful.”
“If we just take sort of a moment off of our phone to acknowledge that, maybe we won’t always be seeking this next best thing,” he added.
For Berens, comedy isn’t about thrusting his beliefs onto the audience or scoring political points. It’s about filling the room with people from all walks of life and uniting them under the umbrella of laughter and togetherness.
His special “Neighborly” premiered on Dec. 1, 2025, and is currently streaming on YouTube.
