Hannah Berneris naturally funny. From her first day entering the share house in the Hamptons onBravo’sSummer House, Berner was cracking jokes and making it clear that she may be a fledgling reality star, and a retired tennis player, butcomedy was her true talent. Berner describes her style as “aggressive” and her comedy reflects this as well. Berner is unapologetic about this quality, and in a society where women are constantly faced with the burden of the expectation of sweet submissiveness, modeling her signature aggressive, raunchy, and dramatic style of comedy is an accomplishment in itself.
She married fellow-comedian and zaddyDes Bishopafter herSummer Houseexit, admitting in her comedy special “it’s super off-brand for me, I know.” Her comedy is female-centric, and often pokes fun at the men in the audience with no regard for their comfort. Berner now also co-hosts her wildly popularGiggly Squadpodcast, withSummer Houseco-star and best friend,Paige DeSorbo. Where Berner’s style is usually slightly rough-around-the-edges and androgynous leaning, her gal-pal is as polished and feminine as they come. Where DeSorbo will daintily sip from a bottle of fireball, Berner will take three deep swigs to set the tone for the party. It’s little wonder the pair can keep each other giggling all day when they get together, with their differences both complimenting one another while providing sharp contrast as well. With their rapid rise in popularity, unshakable friendship, and overall irritation with men in general,the pair have turned joking around with one another into a career.
The beauty of a blossoming career that has developed in different media forms easily available online is the ability to look back at the origins, to see that Berner’s off-the-cuff, occasionally aggressive, wry sense of humor has always been her signature style. Now thatWe Ride At Dawnhas dropped onNetflix, a look back at Hannah’s time onSummer Housereveals not only how far Berner has come in her comedic delivery, but also thather signature sense of humor was always there.In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Berner even made note that while the traditional path to a comedy career is to emulate other styles to find a unique “voice,” for her, it was slightly different. Berner acknowledges that she never struggled to find her voice in comedy: “I just always had my voice, trying to make my friends laugh.” She describes her comedy as “female locker room,” and this approach of trying to make her girlfriends giggle was featured in both her comedy special, and her time onBravo,proving Berner’s point that her voice has always been present.
Summer House
For years, this group of friends has been spending their weekends, from Memorial Day to Labour Day, at one of the most exclusive beaches on the East Coast. As soon as they arrive, they throw themselves into this luxury lifestyle.
From Gigglers to Hitting the Street, the Comedian Is Keeping Busy
Berner continues to post comedic content on social media, with herTikTikaccount boasting 2.9 million followers. Her woman-on-the-street style interviews showcase her skills, and often leave her laughing along with her interview subjects after her questions prompt one outrageous response after another. She and DeSorbo have also gained a huge following for their podcast. They have a loyal, largely female, audience who the pair affectionately call their “gigglers.“Making her listeners laugh is the entire objective of Berner’s career, so the name could not be more appropriate.
In her first season onSummer House, Berner discussed being a content producer, and even before she arrived at Bravo, she had already become enamored with the connection to the audience that so many entertainers seek. In a confessional interview for Season 3, Berner admits:“Seeing millions of people laugh and comment on my videos is the best feeling in the world.“What’s appealing about the duo of Berner and DeSorbo is their giddy self-awareness, teasing one another while also exuding a confidence that many young women in their audience can now happily emulate.
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This assertive confidence is part of Berner’s signature style. While in interviews Berner will admit to mental health struggles with anxiety, in her content creation and reality appearances,she has mastered the ability to perform under pressure. The comedian started out training to be a professional tennis player in her youth, and the drive and dedication required to perform competitively in sport seems to have followed her into her creative pursuits as well.
Her witty humor paired well with the rise of social media as a new platform for comedians to get their work seen, and Berner found a receptive outlet for her creativity. Her on-the-street interview segments showcase her wry delivery and reliance on a mix of both raunchy and challenging subjects.Everything she has done in her career prior to her Netflix special informs her comedic delivery. Now she is in a new stage of her career, joking around with celebrities on red-carpets, opening forJimmy FallononThe Tonight Show, and looking for her next big gig afterWe Ride at Dawnraced into the top-ten on Netflix in its first week streaming. Her confidence is growing, but it was clearly there from the start.
Berner Deserves More Credit For Her Time on ‘Summer House
When Berner entered theSummer Housein Season 3, she and DeSorbo provided much needed comedic relief amid lingering tensions in the house between returning cast membersKyle Cook,Amanda Batula, andLindsay Hubbard. The group had past drama to sort out, but that didn’t mean the newcomers would take a back seat. On a beach day, Cook and Batula began to hash out their differences with Hubbard, who made a statement between Season 2 and 3 by un-following the couple on Instagram and icing them out socially. Instead of inserting themselves into an argument they had no part of, like many rookie reality stars will do to ensure camera time, Berner and DeSorbo instead split from the group to allow them space to sort out their differences, while hilariously eavesdropping and dramatically mimicking them a few feet away.This allowed the audience to laugh along with them, while also enjoying the drama their cast mates were delivering.
Season 4 introducedLuke Gulbransoninto the mix, and Hannah’s aggressive flirtations and wicked sense of humor had suddenly met their match. Gulbranson is the kind of man that is never far from a beautiful woman, and his woodsy Northern Minnesota playboy charm posed the exact kind of challenge Berner had been looking for on the series. The comedian had been testing the waters in her appearances onSummer Houseto see if the men could rise to the challenge of her aggressive flirtatious style, and Gulbranson’s easy confidence initially seemed like the perfect match, as he never allowed her comedic jabs to ruffle his feathers, which only further egged her on. Their romance provided a “will they/won’t they” tension from Season 4 to 5, which has becomea staple feature of the series over the years.
Their tumultuous relationship, and Berner’s ongoing feud with her arch-nemesis in the house, Cook, and his domineering personality when faced with a room of giggling women, eventually led to her departure from the series. In a recent interview,Berner also claimed that promoting a sparkling beverage rival to her co-star’sLoverboybrand resulted in hergetting fired from the series.The pair certainly had their fair share of heated exchanges over their years, and though she did her best to reign in her temper and competitive nature, Cook seemed skilled like no other in bringing them both to the surface. But Cook, like many men who attempt to confront the gigglers, did not know what he was getting himself into, as Berner and DeSorbo both claimed their right to giggle, and refused to be diverted by a red-faced man-baby.
‘We Ride At Dawn’ Does Exactly What a Comedy Special Should Do
For early career comedians, a special on a streaming platform likeNetflixis a dream. Berner made it her reality, and the special does exactly what it is supposed to do. If individuals are not familiar with Berner or her signature forceful delivery, it acts as an introduction from the moment she steps on stage and immediately does the worm before yelling into the microphone “What the f— is up Philadelphia?” But even for viewers who have followed her career, Berner comes out on stage as a more polished and confident version of the self she shares daily through her various media channels. Tastefully accessorized with two-tone gold and silver chain necklaces, beautiful glam, and wearing a copper metallic two-piece corset and pants ensemble that DeSorbo had almost certainly approved, Berner set the tone for a new chapter in her life as the competitive comedian hit the stage and hit her stride.
As she said in Season 2 ofSummer Housewhen describing her ability to flirt with men: “My game with guys is like my game with tennis. Aggressive.“Hannah likes to establish herself as the alpha, especially if there are peacocking men in her vicinity. Her full-charge forward personality is seen on stage in her comedy special, but has been fine-tuned by her years of experience with social media and in-person interviews. When she interacts with the audience, she can shift from genuine sincerity to outrageous vulgarity, jokes with punchlines that she has learned to temper and refine into comedic gems. Looking casually around and noting there are a few men in the audience, she wryly observes she doesn’t mind their presence, so long as they are supervised. Her being completely unbothered about the emotional state of the men in her vicinity might be irksome to them, since they are not used to being decentered, but for the women in the audience it is a particular delight.
Berner Taps Into the Cultural Moment
Her commentary always taps into the cultural moment, while touching on age-old tropes in the comedy scene. Observing that the bonus of being a woman in her thirties is no-longer being young enough to be noticed by men, which sounds “so peaceful,” she turns to remark that if women don’t go to extremes to stay youthful and beautiful, they are pressured into thinking that they are going to turn immediately into “Joe Biden.” Which she follows up by observing dryly,“Just kidding, women can’t become president, that would just be insane.“The blend of an old trope about women aging, intertwined with current events, especially in light of the news that Vice PresidentKamala Harriswill now be running a race to become that first female President of the United States, is a level of sophisticated story-telling that Berner disguises beneath her brashness and excitability.We Ride At Dawnshowcases Berner’s signature comedic style while elevating her platform and delivering everything a comedy special should.
All Seasons ofSummer Houseare available to stream onPeacock.We Ride At Dawnis available onNetflix.
