Thomas Hermanns: Comedy doesn’t work without polarization

For the German entertainer Thomas Hermanns (59), comedy always has to polarize. “Comedy is always something that people have extreme feelings about, because laughter is something very personal. Comedy without polarization doesn’t really work,” said Hermanns of the German Press Agency.

The longtime moderator of the “Quatsch Comedy Club” presented his last edition in the Berlin Theater am Potsdamer Platz in mid-December. It will be broadcast on ProSieben on Thursday (8:15 p.m.). One of the guests is Oliver Pocher (44), who keeps dividing the audience with his sayings.

“There are people, like Oli, who take a harder approach and people who aim a little more at the family audience. Oli has always been cheeky and very brave,” Hermanns said of his younger colleague. The two appear in the farewell show “Bye Bye Thomas” as impersonators of pop singer Britney Spears (“Oops! I Did It Again”) – bare midriff in a schoolgirl costume and in a red latex one-piece suit.

Hermanns will remain active behind the scenes at the “Quatsch Comedy Club” and will moderate other television programs such as the “Wheel of Fortune”.