“LOL: Last One Laughing” is entering its seventh season – and Olaf Schubert is once again one of the show’s most dangerous non-laughers. The Dresden humorist is now one of the veterans of the format and knows exactly how to bring colleagues to the brink of collapse without losing their composure themselves. “LOL: Last One Laughing” Season 7 is streaming on Prime Video. The new season started on May 14, 2026. We met Olaf Schubert for a chat.
Who has been your toughest opponent in “LOL” so far?
I would say there are two: Teddy Teclebrhan and Thorsten Sträter. They hit my humor center the hardest. They really go in, so to speak. We know this from school: I’m not supposed to laugh and then someone says something or some teacher says exactly that – and then it gets to the core and you have to pull yourself together, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work. And that’s how it is with both of them. They somehow know how to do it.
Your concept includes involuntary fun. Do you think it’s more difficult to make others laugh than if you, like Otto, are constantly hamming it up?
I think in the end everyone just does what they do best – and somehow tries to make someone laugh. And of course you try to have fun yourself, despite not being allowed to laugh. Because if you didn’t have it, you wouldn’t take part in “LOL”! For me it’s always something like a big children’s birthday party where you’re lucky enough to be invited and you’re allowed to do some nonsense there. So yes: this is a worthwhile event.
Humor under high tension
What type of joke makes you laugh the most?
These are always the unexpected ones, something you don’t expect. The joke you don’t see coming is always the most dangerous, so to speak. Because if you can see the punch line coming, then you can prepare for it, arm yourself and take cover.
What are your tactics for this “LOL” season?
The tactic is always the same: I try to be as funny as possible and – in the right mood – as serious as possible. I haven’t come up with anything better yet.
The veteran group at “LOL”
Is there actually anyone in “LOL” that you’re afraid of taking part in because they’re too funny? Or is there anyone you would really like to work with who hasn’t yet?
There are already a few that I would like to meet again. Who comes to mind spontaneously? For example, unfortunately I’ve never met Kurt Krömer; he was always there when I wasn’t there. Helge Schneider would also like to take part.
What was the funniest thing for you so far in “LOL”?
That’s of course difficult to answer – the show always lasts six hours, which is a long time. But I usually found these little games very funny. Well I remember one time we were playing charades. And it went back and forth so absurdly quickly that you really had to concentrate. Then when it came to finding different synonyms for sexual intercourse – that was with Hazel Brugger and Caroline Kebekus – I also found that very funny. There are many highlights there.
Humor hardly knows any taboos
Is there anything you would categorically not joke about?
Nothing categorical. But what is it called? If necessary, just shut up.
Why did you actually want to become a comedian?
This was planned differently for me. I actually had a band and played drums and we all wanted to be rock stars. We wanted to be the new Rolling Stones or something. But that didn’t work out that way. Nobody wanted to hear our music. But during our performances I briefly said something on the drums. At the beginning it was just one or two sentences, then it became a minute, then it became five minutes. And then at some point Bernd Stephan, the band’s boss, said: I’m going to call a club like this in Dresden and you’re going to do this all evening. Then I said: Help! But then we came up with something and our first performance in front of maybe 300 people. We thought: That’s a good mix, let’s keep it up.
The myth of “Olaf Jagger”
The interesting thing about your fictional character “Olaf Jagger” is that it has also established itself as an urban myth. Some believe it is credible that Mick Jagger is Olaf Schubert’s father.
Olaf Jagger wasn’t my idea, but the idea of the screenwriter Heike Fink. And I thought, well, that actually sounds quite strange – but who should be interested in that? But as it is, it was Corona, we had time and then we threw ourselves into the project with joy. The reaction rather surprised me. I wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone ran out of the cinema after fifteen minutes and said: What kind of groats is that? But I think that’s the power of images or the intensity of such a suggestion. If you assert something firmly enough, something will get caught. This is fascinating and frightening at the same time.
You’ve been a comedian since the late 90s. How do you deal with the expectation that someone who comes from Dresden will also reflect on the political situation in such a way that they can express themselves – against the AfD, for example?
I’m a humorist – and so it’s my job to approach things humorously. Otherwise, I would say, I should have become a politician. Schubert stick to your guns! The high jumper should jump high and not suddenly jump far. As a humorist, I have to put what I want to say into humor.
Between entertainment and attitude
You once said, “I only say what people want to hear.” Your program is also about Trump and then about the electric car. Do you actively search for topics: This is what moves society?
The whole sentence goes like this: Some people accuse me of being populist, but I say: no. I only say what people want to hear. And – as the saying goes – conflicts always have the potential for humor. But my aim is less to add fuel to the fire, even though it’s easier to polarize than to bring people together again. That doesn’t mean that you have to fraternize by arm-wrapping your arms, but looking at certain things from different perspectives attracts more people than just always looking at the same thing from one direction. So if people laugh together at an event despite having different views, that can’t do any harm.
