He made comedy stars like Ilka Bessin, Dieter Nuhr and Carolin Kebekus big with his shows. But after 30 years, Thomas Hermanns is retiring from the “Quatsch Comedy Club”.
The moderator and comedian wants to make room for a young successor shortly before his 60th birthday. After all, comedy is a young art.
BILD am SONNTAG: If your farewell programs are a great success – doesn’t that mean saying goodbye again?
Thomas Hermanns: “With Stefan Raab, saying goodbye really worked. With ‘bet that ..?’ we’re seeing: ‘There he is again.’ I think you have to stick to a goodbye. Only Cher is more forgiving of comebacks than Lassie. I rule out the ‘Here I am again’, tanned after a year’s vacation. And the ‘Now I can again’ has something patronizing about the younger ones, I definitely don’t want that. After all, I don’t want to become my successor’s nightmare either.”
On December 29th (8:15 p.m., Pro Sieben) the last “Quatsch Comedy Club” will run with Thomas Hermanns (middle). Also present: Atze Schröder, Tahnee, among others
Why do some of your colleagues miss the right time to say goodbye?
Herman’s: “It’s difficult to get the timing right to say goodbye. A lot comes together. The addicting thing about television is that as a presenter you get so much attention. You get applause, stand in the right light, get dressed and put on make-up. You get used to the fact that everyone becomes friendly as soon as you walk into the studio. There is certainly an occupational vulnerability to the red light. But if you suddenly start moderating at the red traffic light in the car, you have to be careful.”
Has the way we are allowed and able to be funny changed over the past three very special years?
Herman’s: “At the moment there’s a trend again that people want to separate ‘light’ humor from ‘valuable’ humor. This is probably due to the serious times. Cabaret was also — earlier, the ‘good’ laugh, because the authority of politicians was questioned. And we came up with our everyday stories that everyone could relate to.”
What is so important about the “light” humor?
Herman’s: “In doing so, we also changed Germany. A sense of humor with a certain lightness should always be abolished in Germany. I’m definitely against that. You just have to go to a comedy club in Kyiv. The comedians continue to perform there. And there you can see what comedy can do. It’s not about forgetting reality, as is always the case in Germany. But to connect with each other in laughter beyond the tribulations of everyday life. These moments give people the strength to face the next day. Incidentally, the vegans don’t jump up indignantly, but rather laugh at themselves. And that’s what I demand. If you have the feeling that you are morally in a higher position, this is a good subject for comedy. It’s the same with the Pope.”
Do you occasionally have the impression that certain jokes can no longer be made because they are no longer politically correct for younger people?
Herman’s: “As far as younger people are concerned, I don’t have that impression at all. And for me it is clear: If I can joke about Jesus, then I can also joke about Greta Thunberg. The humor must remain subversive and surprising. It’s not a party program. Of course you get digital reactions to some gags. But they don’t come from the young people who sit with us as viewers, but from the Twitter bubble, which has nothing to do with reality.”
Are there trends in jokes?
Herman’s: “What gags about men and women were ten years ago are gags about vegans today. Although the topic has actually almost been eaten away by now – in the truest sense of the word.”
This article comes from BILD am SONNTAG. The ePaper of the entire issue is available here.
