Hannah Berner on Her ‘None of My Business’ Hulu Special and Why Stand-Up Was ‘Healing’ After ‘Summer House’

Hannah Berner’s lower back is finally starting to recover after a busy journey in recent years, the comedian says via Zoom. “I’ve literally been on tour since 2020, so I’m enjoying this break,” she says with a laugh.

Berner has certainly been busy lately — in addition to constant comedy shows, the former “Summer House” star also co-hosts the popular “Giggly Squad” podcast with Paige DeSorbo; together, the two have written a book, completed a nationwide tour and, most recently, made a cameo in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

In April, Berner wrapped up her 70-show stand-up tour – also known as the “None of my Business Tour” – during which she filmed her all-new comedy special for Hulu. Titled ‘Hannah Berner: None of My Business’ Variety can exclusively reveal that it will premiere on the streamer on June 5.

“I’m so proud of the special – I can’t wait for people to see it,” Berner says ahead of its debut. “It feels like you’ve been painting something for a long time. I don’t know why I’m using paint as an example, but the masterpiece is finally finished and I’m ready to show it to the world.”

In her second special, Berner becomes more vulnerable than ever as she delves into her unorthodox career path, uncertainty about her future, dating secrets and more. Berner spoke below Variety about workshopping her new material, how “Giggly Squad” helps her flex her comedic muscles and why she harbors no ill will toward the “Summer House” viewers who still encounter her all these years later.

How long did you spend working on the material in this new special? How do you decide, “Okay, this is the show.”

The nice thing about stand-up is that after my first special, which I loved so much, you start from scratch. It feels like you’ve won the Super Bowl, and then you have to learn how to play football again. Right after my Netflix special came out, I went on a “Giggly Squad” tour and was able to have fun. But I also literally started taking notes and writing jokes on my phone. Once the tour was over, I booked a bunch of clubs where I just went on stage with a notebook and basically read to my locals. So everyone knew I was working on material and I was literally like, “Is this funny?”

For my sophomore special, I’m so proud of it because you’re better at writing, better at performing and it was a slow process of just trying new jokes. And once I felt like I had that hour, I was like, “We’re ready for theaters.” I did 65 shows before recording this special, so the material is tried, practiced and refined. It took about two and a half years to get there, so it’s been a long time coming.

You mentioned the “Giggly Squad” tour – has doing the podcast influenced your comedy?

100%. I always say, if I don’t think it would make Paige laugh, I would never say it on stage. We bring out the funny in each other. Every now and then, when I’m telling a story about “Giggly Squad,” I think in my head, “I could rework this on stage.” But there are also times when I have jokes that I’m working on that I want to practice for “Giggly Squad,” but I don’t want everyone to hear them. I want to save it for the special. But “Giggly Squad” is a great exercise for me to come up with new material with my best friend and then try it on stage. It’s like an open mic for me, twice a week. How I got good at crowdwork was literally improving all the time with Paige.

Do you get more nervous before shows?

My friends make fun of me because it can be the biggest or the smallest location, I’m always the same. You have to be funny and if you take yourself too seriously it’s so hard to just turn that on once you’re on stage. My green room is very relaxed. Me and my openers are just laughing, joking. I’m shopping online. I scroll through TikTok. I’m on the phone with my husband. It’s very chilly, and a big part of me is being tired and knowing that when I get on stage, the audience will inject my veins with energy and I’ll be awake again. It’s a lot of plane, sleep, performance.

When it comes to filming, I do get nervous because on stage it’s this live, beautiful experience where you’re just in the moment. With filming, it’s there forever and there are so many logistics and so many moving pieces. I was very nervous about my first special. My second special: I didn’t have to take a beta blocker. I thought, “I’m ready to go.” But it’s always nerve-wracking because you know how much time you’re putting into it and you just want to make sure it’s as magical as the tour.

You said earlier that you always want to make Paige laugh. Is there someone else in your life that you run material through? Or would you rather just stand on stage and see what people respond to?

It’s funny because no matter how much you talk to other people, at the end of the day it’s your voice. So I have to figure out how to say it and how to connect with the audience. But I have my openers on tour – Ali Kolbert and Gabby Bryan – they’ll come up to me and say, “That really works,” or they’ll say, “I actually don’t like that. Why do you keep doing it?” So we’re pretty honest with each other and we’re always working on each other’s stuff because it’s a creative environment. I mean, our job is fake. We’ll have brunch and talk about what would make a lame joke better.

You’ve described your comedy as female locker room talk. Do you still support that description with this special?

I think the main point of the first special was: let’s make people laugh as hard as possible. That’s the same with this one, but people want to know more about who I am, and that makes your comedy unique. So I was a little more open about my career path, a little more vulnerable about the decision to have children. I talked more about my marriage and had a lot of fun with gender stereotypes. But I have to say that there are a lot more friends coming to the shows. It’s actually nerve-wracking because it’s definitely not a welcoming space for them, but they do like to be laughed at. I think the energy of what’s special is that you don’t take yourself too seriously. And also being able to be sexy and horny while being funny, depressed and anxious is something I like to put out there.

Why do you feel like you’re ready to get a little more personal now?

I think people knew me from other things during the first special, and there was a level of “Well, can she put out a great Netflix special?” So it was less about me and more about, “This is what I want to tell the world and how I want to make everyone laugh.”

In this special you talk about some past affairs. Has anyone you joked about ever reached out?

I told a funny story about meeting the mascot at my university, and he reached out and really loved the story. He said, “All my friends think I’m cool now,” and I said, “Okay, I got material from it, so thanks for your time.” If something is very embarrassing, it is unidentifiable. And sometimes I mix – this is the tea – two ex-boyfriends together for one good story. I take these two experiences and present him as the same man, but it all really happened.

How do you feel your comedy has evolved since you started this journey?

I was pretty green, even when I first started my theater tour for my Netflix special. But I have an athlete mentality where I take it very, very seriously, and I get so much time on stage, and I handle it the right way and I have great people around me who say, “If you want to be a stand-up comedian, this is what you need to do.” I just got really addicted to it. And it was healing for me to be on stage and connect with people, instead of just being online or on a TV show. Performing live is just amazing, and I always say that if you continuously tell a story over dinner, it only gets better over time. I just gained a lot of confidence on stage and as a comedian. I just like not being put in a box.

Was there pressure to deliver again since your Netflix special did so well?

After the Netflix special, I thought, “I have to do that again? How many specials do you have to release?” It’s crazy. I was really nervous about how I was going to make these jokes as good as the jokes that are so tried and true. But I also realized that my Netflix special wasn’t good because of the specific jokes, but because I was me. And now I can write better jokes, I can perform better and I have more experience. Being on stage is all about appearance and self-confidence, and you can’t help but get better the more you are on stage.

You’ve said before that if you hadn’t done reality TV, you don’t know if you’d be doing stand-up. Do you still have that feeling?

Stand-up comedy was healing for me after dealing with reality TV, which was a blessing. Stand-up just made me feel like myself, because even if something didn’t go right, at least I was authentically myself, and it made me want my voice to be heard. I felt like my voice had shrunk and I wanted women’s voices to be heard in all their emotions. If I didn’t feel that excitement to do that, I wouldn’t be crazy enough to tour for five years. You have to have a chip on your shoulder to say, “I’m getting a Netflix special. I’m getting a Hulu special. I have things to say. I can’t be silenced.”

Of course, people have had a lot of opinions about your time on reality TV. Now it seems like people are looking back and wondering, “Why were people so hard on Hannah?” How do you feel when the tides change in your perception?

I’ve seen some of it. But overall, I’m so glad I had the ups and downs of reality TV because it made me more down to earth, more humble, and aware of the crazy ups and downs of Hollywood. Sometimes when people are high for too long, you become an asshole. So I’m grateful for the ups and downs of the entertainment world and that I experienced this when I was younger.

So you don’t have any anger towards the fans who are switching now.

No, because I think we all evolve and grow. And it’s all based on time and times are changing and people can see things more clearly. And ultimately, I also believe that karma is real. Sometimes you just have to wait, and I’m a patient person. I can now do what I love, and that’s all I can ask for.

What are fans most curious about once the special is available?

I want it to be a comfort show for people. I want them to be able to put it on when they’re feeling down, watch it with their friends and share clips they identify with. I want people to feel less alone in life’s hard times. I hope this comedy special adds a little brightness.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.