Though some, especially those in the evangelical community, may not be familiar with comedian Andrew Schultz, his comedic work and the philosophy behind it is both noteworthy and represents a growing demographic among millennials and Gen Z’s, across expansive racial and social boundaries.
Born in New York City in 1983, Schultz attended UC Santa Barbara. In college, Schultz was a fan of stand-up comedy but had no plan to try and make a career of it. However, while working at a local restaurant, he was persuaded to take part in the establishment’s open mic night. After this experience, Schultz would move back to NYC and soon became a regular at NYC comedy clubs, as well as an appearance at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in ’08.
Over the next few years, Schultz would appear on multiple TV shows, becoming a regular on MTV2 and making appearances on Amazon’s Sneaky Pete. During his time in television, Schultz teamed up with Charlamagne tha God to co-host the Brilliant Idiots podcast, a comedy podcast centered around current events. It wasn’t until 2017 that Schultz started to come into his own in the industry. A decade after entering the club scene, his released his first special, 4:4:1 (4 Clubs, 4 Sets, 1 Night): A NYC Comedy Experience. This is where Schultz’s entrepreneurial mind begins to show itself. No networks would take his hour-long edit so he edited it down to 16 minutes and released it independently. It promptly blew up and Schultz has been on a tear ever since. His independently released improv special, (a separate work from 4:4:1) was released on his YouTube channel August 26th of last year. Currently, it has over 3.4 million views and 113k likes. In addition, Schultz discovered that people would not watch a 45-60 minute special, but they would, however, watch ten 5-6 minute Youtube clips in a row. So Schultz began releasing bits from his tour dates and skits and was soon selling out every nightclub, while also garnering significant viewership on Youtube.
What sets Andrew Schultz apart from other comics is that he does not conform to political correctness. But he doesn’t fall into the trap of coming across as a disenfranchised white male whining about political correctness. Which is good, because he isn’t. Schultz’s agenda is driven by a love for comedy itself, not politics. So anyone, and anything, is fair game. From Republicans, to Democrats, to ethnicity, feminism, and LGBTQ topics, to Epstein and the Coronavirus, there isn’t an issue that he won’t address. Indeed, he has termed his comedic ventures as “unsafe sets.” A more mainstream example might be Bill Burr and his material: a coarse, crass, but genuine approach to comedy. Is Schultz a Christian? Certainly not. But his artistic commitment and unwillingness to be a pawn of P.C. culture has enabled him to carve out a substantial niche in improv and stand-up comedy, one that has even garnered him an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. And one that has given him the opportunity to challenge certain aspects of our hyper-sensitive, emotive-driven culture. A challenge that many Christians would do well to consider as it represents a worldview that will become increasingly prevalent in it’s intensity and popularity. Andrew Schultz is not only an entrepreneur, he’s an artist, and an accidental philosopher of sorts. An artist whose commitment to an art in it’s truest form has led him to uncover bigger, broader truths, if not at times merely accidentally. And whether his worldview is Christian or not, his comedy represents a pushback – though lacking in vital theological refinement – against the groupthink that is all to common in today’s world.