When Revue got ahold of Wisconsin comedian and viral video sensation Charlie Berens, we were lucky he took our call.
Ya see, the Lions had just beat the Packers, at Lambeau, and don’tcha know, he was awfully sore about it.
Just kidding, but the fellow Midwesterner did joke about how the Upper Peninsula really does belong to Wisconsin, and how happy he is to find others from our neck of the woods while he’s touring all over the country.
“I think it’s indicative of the fact that people in the Midwest, they travel,” he said, only half-joking about how many Detroit fans made the trek to Green Bay last month. “You’re either from the Midwest or, you know people in the Midwest. You know what I mean? So a lot of people are familiar with it, and I don’t have to change up too much from my show in order for people to understand what I’m talking about.”
For those who don’t know Berens, the standup comedian, New York Times Best Selling author, Emmy-winning journalist, musician, and podcaster first broke out in 2017 with the Manitowoc Minute, his comedic online news show. Based on a character that leans heavily on his Wisconsin upbringing, the bit became an overnight hit, leading him to create even more popular Midwest-focused sketch comedy videos. He’s since amassed over 9 million followers across all his various platforms.
“It felt great because I posted videos for a long time and they hadn’t done well,” Berens said of the sudden success of the “Manitowoc Minute.” “That was one of the first ones that took off organically, where it was just getting shared, and shared, and shared. It was something you couldn’t control. It was like a wildfire with that video. And so I then did another, and another, and it felt great. It felt like everything I had been trying to do.
“And now I’m working a lot on my stand up, because that’s where I started,” he added. “And that’s what I love doing as well. It’s just nice being able to go from stand up to the videos, because some concepts are better for stand ups, some are better for video. So if something’s not quite working as a standup bit, it’s a video. Or it might be a podcast or something. So it’s just finding the right avenue for the thing. And I’m thankful I’ve got different tools in the toolbox.”
Before breaking through as a comedian, Berens had studied broadcast journalism, and worked in TV news, where he found out that his Wisconsin accent was quite noticeable to others. Growing up, he didn’t think anything of it, but instead of believing that his voice was a weakness, he leaned in, creating the onstage character that he would perform in the Manitowoc Minute while performing at the Comedy Store in L.A.
“I remember being excited that night, but also a little deflated because it was only 50 people,” Berens said of the birth of the character. “And those people didn’t know my name. I was only doing a short set, like eight minutes. I knew I had something, but how do I get more people to see it? So I made the first ‘Manitowoc Minute’ video.”
Now Berens finds that his standup inspires his videos, and vice versa. He really enjoys getting the opportunity to do both, even if he prefers the in-person connection he gets with audiences when he’s up on stage.
“Sometimes there’s more to say that you can’t say in a video,” Berens said. “Sometimes it starts as a one off. Like I did a sketch called ‘Playground Now versus Playground Then,’ and that started off as a conversation I had on a hike with my opener, and my cousin. And then on stage somebody had a baby, and then somebody said something, and it led to me riffing this bit about how playgrounds sucks these days because they’re not dangerous anymore. And I cut it into a stand up bit, but I was like, ‘You know, I kind of didn’t get this delivery right. And I think it would be fun if I actually personified this character.’ So I never even released it as a standup bit. I just wrote the thing I wanted to write with a little bit more time.”
Berens remains incredibly busy. In addition to touring, and creating videos, he wrote “The Midwest Survival Guide,” which ABC is currently developing into a half-hour comedy. He also topped the Billboard Bluegrass chart in 2020 after he teamed up with his friends Horseshoes & Hand Grenades for the music and comedy album, “Unthawed.” They released a second album, “Dive Bar Dinner,” last year.
A huge fan of dive bars, Berens hosts the “Belly Up” Podcast with his pal Myles the You Betcha Guy, where every Thursday they take live callers while at small town bars across the country. He also interviews other comedians and celebrities about their connections to the Midwest on his popular Cripscast podcast.
Not a stranger to fixing himself a good old fashioned, Berens launched his own brandy, Berens Old Fashioned Brandy, produced by Dancing Goat distillery, and available all over Wisconsin.
Returning to his home state for the holidays, Berens said he will visit with his large family of 12 siblings, where he admits he is often the butt of a lot of jokes.
“We do this thing called gimmicks, where every Christmas we pick one person, and then on Christmas Eve, you give them a present,” he said. “But no one cares about the present. What we care about is the roast. You then roast that person. So I get to listen to like 14 different roasts of my siblings, and in-laws and stuff. It’s more like 20 people at this point, so that’s a good time. We just love to laugh, and not take each other too seriously.”
Berens said heading into the New Year he plans to shoot a new standup special, following up on his first special, “Midwest Goodbye,” released last year, as well as some scripted content, and just “keep ‘er movin’.”
Charlie Berens: A Good Old Fashioned Tour
GLC Live at 20 Monroe, 11 Ottawa Ave. NW, Grand Rapids
Dec. 7, TWO SHOWS 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. (limited tickets available), $48+
Charlieberens.com, glcliveat20monroe.com
