Comedy is a tough art form to innovate, but every now and then, a comedian will emerge to produce new — and at times controversial — work in the field. For NYU, that radical comedian may just be Tisch senior Charlie Walden, as well as his twin brother Jack Walden.
Together, the brothers have developed a web series called “Significant Brothers” — a light and romantic comedy-psychosexual horror story about the two brothers entering an exclusive and intimate physical relationship with each other.
“We first came up with the idea last summer around a table with our family, and the name was just the first thing [we came up with] because it was kind of funny,” Charlie said. “Every time we mentioned the name to people, they laughed, and we kind of made it a challenge to make this super crazy idea and make it good.”
Walden said he and Jack are optimistic about their show’s potential.
“We want you to root for us and buy [us]. Well, not root for us or buy us because we’re not selling anything,” Walden said. “We’re not making any money from [‘Significant Brothers’]. We want you to buy the relationship. The job we’re giving ourselves is to sell the love as much as the jokes because that makes the jokes more effective.”
Walden also said the current comedy landscape is varied and engenders experimentation.
“There is good stuff and there is bad stuff,” he said. “It’s all the same brain muscles that you’re flexing. There are no rules, and when people implement their own new rules, that’s when you get cool, new, fresh stuff.”
He also explained how his show has brought him and Jack closer.
“My brother and I weren’t always as close as we are, but we kind of knew we would [work well] together,” Walden said. “We’ve been hanging out more a lot lately. Since July, we’ve been sleeping in the same master bedroom in two different beds.”
Fame has the tendency to corrupt the most innocently intentioned comedians, but Walden said this will not be a problem for him.
“Fame seems like a pain in the ass,” Walden said. “Hopefully I make enough people uncomfortable that I’m not making a million dollars [doing something like] ‘Modern Family,’ though I’d like to make a million dollars doing something.”
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Oct. 29 print edition. Mohamed Hassan is a staff writer. Email him at [email protected].
