Last Comic Standing

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Last Comic Standing

Intertitle
Format Talent
Created by Peter Engel
Jay Mohr
Presented by Jay Mohr (2003–04)
Anthony Clark (2006)
Bill Bellamy (2007–08)
Fearne Cotton (2008)
Craig Robinson (2010)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 7
No. of episodes 75
Production
Executive producer(s) Wanda Sykes[1]
Page Hurwitz[1]
Running time 60 minutes
(with commercials)
Production company(s) Push It Productions[1]
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV) (2008 finals)
Original run Original Series
June 1, 2003 – August 9, 2010
Revived Series
Summer 2014[1]
Chronology
Related shows Show Me The Funny
External links
Website

Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent show that aired its first seven seasons from 2003 to 2010.[2]

The goal of the program is to select a comedian from a group, who will receive a development contract with the NBC network, and a television special first to air on the cable-TV network Comedy Central and later on the cable network Bravo.

Last Comic Standing has been renewed for an eighth season, which will air in summer 2014.[1]

Format

In the early rounds of the competition, NBC talent scouts Ross Mark and Bob Read held open casting calls in various locations around the United States. At each casting call, Mark and Read identified comics to participate in callback auditions in front of live audiences. Mark and Read then selected a predetermined number of comics from each callback, who were invited to participate in a semifinal qualifying round.

The comics who advanced to the semifinal qualifying round were divided into two groups. In Season Four, 40 comics were divided into two groups of 20; these comics performed and competed against each other at the Alex Theater in Los Angeles. During the semifinal qualifying rounds, a panel of celebrity judges, and the show's producers, selected the comics who would move forward to the final qualifying round. This determined who among the comics would be "in the house." While this was usually a regular house, in season four, the comics were chosen to live aboard RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

Once "in the house," the comics participated in some type of comedic challenge each television week. Past challenges included performing stand-up at a local laundromat, working as a tour guide in Los Angeles, participating in a roast at the Friars Club of Beverly Hills and performing comedy on a specific subject with little preparation time on a radio show. The winner of each challenge is usually rewarded with immunity from being eliminated from the competition for that week, while the remaining comics are vulnerable to elimination through a "head-to-head" standup challenge.

As the conclusion of each television week drew near, each comic selected one other comic whom they believed they could defeat in a head-to-head challenge. The comics were sent off individually to a secluded booth, and named the person selected using the phrase "I know I'm funnier than _____." The comic who received the most nominations participated in that evening's head-to-head competition, and selected their opponent from any of the comics who had challenged them.

The head-to-head competition occurred in front of a live studio audience. The comics performed for an equal amount of time, and the studio audience voted electronically for their preferred performer. The winning comic remained "in the house" for at least one more television week, and the losing comic was eliminated from the competition.

When only five comics remained, the format changed again. All remaining comics performed for a large theatre audience as before, but now the decision-making power shifted from the studio audience to the television audience. Viewers cast their votes for their favorite comic by phoning a specific number, by voting online at the network's website, or both. Unlike some other "audience-vote reality" programs, the producers imposed a maximum number of eligible votes per originating phone number and email address. The comic who received the lowest number of votes each week was eliminated from the competition, until there was one "Last Comic Standing".

The "in the house" concept was dropped for season 7, and each week consisted of all remaining comics performing in front of a theater audience and being voted on by the television viewers to determine who leaves and who remains. It was essentially identical to the "final five" format used previously.

Winners: Dat Phan, John Heffron, Alonzo Bodden, Josh Blue, Jon Reep, Iliza Shlesinger, and Felipe Esparza.

Seasons

Season 1 (Summer 2003)

Season one aired in the summer of 2003 and was hosted by Jay Mohr. The winner of the audience-participation final vote in season one was Dat Phan, with 35% of the vote. Other finalists included Ralphie May (28%), Rich Vos (18%), Cory Kahaney (12%), and Tess (7%). Contestants "in the house" who did not make the final five were Geoff Brown, Tere Joyce, Sean Kent, Dave Mordal, and Rob Cantrell.

Elimination Chart
Comics Head-to-head Public Elimination
Ep 4 Ep 5 Ep 6 Ep 7 Ep 8 Ep 10 Ep 11
Dat Phan IN IN SAFE WIN WIN IN LCS
Ralphie May IN IN WIN IN IN IN OUT
Rich Vos IN IN IN IN IN OUT
Cory Kahaney IN WIN IN SAFE IN OUT
Tess SAFE SAFE IN IN IN OUT
Geoff Brown IN IN IN IN OUT
Dave Mordal WIN IN IN IN OUT
Rob Cantrell IN IN OUT
Tere Joyce IN OUT
Sean Kent OUT
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge
     WIN means the comic participated and won the head-to-head showdown
     OUT means the comic lost in the head-to-head showdown or by viewer voting and was eliminated

Season 2 (Summer 2004)

Season two aired in the summer of 2004, hosted by Jay Mohr. The winner was John Heffron. Alonzo Bodden was the first runner-up, while third place went to Gary Gulman. The other finalists were Ant, Tammy Pescatelli, Bonnie McFarlane, Jay London, Kathleen Madigan, Todd Glass, Chris Voth, and Corey Holcomb.

Buck Star, who became infamous for appearing at each and every LCS audition, first appeared in season two. After being repeatedly rejected by talent scouts Mark and Read, Mark finally acquiesced and allowed Buck to perform in the callback auditions in Tampa (the final audition site of the season). Buck failed to impress the live audience, however, and did not advance further in the competition.

After five head-to-head eliminations, a wildcard competition was set up among the five eliminated comics the top voter-getting returning to the competition. Jay London won this competition, but was ultimately eliminated again in the next vote.

Elimination Chart
Comics Head-to-head Wild Card Public Elimination
Ep 5 Ep 6 Ep 7 Ep 8 Ep 9 Ep 11 Ep 13 Ep 15
John Heffron WIN IN IN IN WIN IN IN LCS
Alonzo Bodden IN IN SAFE IN WIN IN IN OUT
Gary Gulman IN IN WIN WIN IN IN IN OUT
Jay London IN IN IN OUT WIN OUT
Kathleen Madigan IN IN IN SAFE IN IN OUT
Tammy Pescatelli IN WIN IN IN SAFE IN OUT
Corey Holcomb SAFE IN IN IN OUT OUT
Ant IN SAFE OUT OUT
Todd Glass IN OUT OUT
Bonnie McFarlane OUT OUT
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge
     WIN means the comic participated and won the head-to-head showdown
     WIN means the comic won the wildcard and returned to the show
     OUT means the comic lost in the head-to-head showdown or by viewer voting and was eliminated
     OUT means the comic competed for the wildcard and lost

Season 3 (Fall 2004)

While Last Comic Standing Season Two was airing, NBC agreed to produce a third season, which would air during the fall of 2004. Season three, dubbed the "Battle of the Best", consisted of a competition between the final ten comedians from seasons one and two. The grand prize awarded this season was a flat $250,000 (unlike previous seasons' prizes, which included a talent contract and a television special). Alonzo Bodden, the runner-up from Season 2, was the winner and Dave Mordal, the seventh place man from Season 1, was the runner-up. The third placemen were John Heffron, the Season 2 winner and Rich Vos, the third place man from Season 1 and Bonnie McFarlane's husband. Season 2 first-eliminated Bonnie McFarlane had chosen not to participate in this competition for unknown reasons. Resources say[citation needed] that she may've been taking care of her and Rich Vos's new baby (Rich Vos being married to her and him also being third place man in season one). She was replaced by a finalists judge competition of four comics who made to the Hawaii round. The winner of that competition was Jessica Kirson who was eliminated first from season 2. Celebrities appearing in the season were Jeffrey Ross, Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, Louie Anderson and Carrot Top. Episodes would be shown as 1 hour and the finale was a half-hour long.

Elimination Chart
Comics Ep 2 Ep 3 Ep 4 Ep 5 Ep 6 Ep 7 Finale
Alonzo Bodden WIN WIN WIN LCS
Dave Mordal IN IN IN OUT
John Heffron WIN WIN WIN OUT
Rich Vos IN IN IN OUT
Gary Gulman WIN WIN OUT
Tess IN IN OUT
Todd Glass WIN WIN OUT
Geoff Brown IN IN OUT
Jay London WIN WIN OUT
Ralphie May IN IN OUT
Kathleen Madigan WIN WIN OUT
Dat Phan IN IN OUT
Ant WIN OUT
Sean Kent IN OUT
Tammy Pescatelli WIN OUT
Rob Cantrell IN OUT
Corey Holcomb OUT
Tere Joyce OUT
Jessica Kirson OUT
Cory Kahaney OUT
     Season 1 comic
     Season 2 comic
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     OUT means the comic was the runner-up
     WIN means the comic's team won the $50,000 viewer vote and the comic moved on in the competition
     IN means the comic's team lost the $50,000 viewer vote and the comic moved on in the competition
     OUT means the comic's team won the $50,000 viewer vote, but the comic was eliminated
     OUT means the comic's team lost the $50,000 viewer vote and the comic was eliminated.

Cancellation

Due to lackluster ratings in the third season (falling as low as 74th in the primetime Nielsen ratings), NBC canceled the show before the last episode aired; it aired on Comedy Central instead.

Season 4 (Summer 2006)

Main article: Last Comic Standing 4

On May 30, 2006, the show returned to NBC with a two-hour special and a new host, Anthony Clark.

Nielsen ratings from Season 4 averaged a 4.4 share (4,848,800 households).

Josh Blue, a St. Paul, Minnesota, native who has cerebral palsy, was the Last Comic Standing on the August 9, 2006, conclusion of the contest. Ty Barnett was the runner-up, while third place went to Chris Porter. Other finalists were (in order of placement) Michele Balan, Roz, Kristin Key, Rebecca Corry, Gabriel Iglesias, Joey Gay, Bil Dwyer, April Macie, and Stella Stolper. Additionally, Theo Von won the separate online contest to be the Last Comic Downloaded. Iglesias was disqualified for multiple violations of his contract including using a BlackBerry and became the first in the history of the show to be thrown out of the competition.

Elimination Chart
Comics Head-to-head Public elimination
Ep 5 Ep 6 Ep 7 Ep 8 Ep 9 Ep 10 Ep 11
Josh Blue IN IN IN IN IN IN LCS
Ty Barnett IN IN WIN IN IN IN OUT
Chris Porter SAFE WIN IN IN LOW OUT
Michele Balan WIN WIN IN LOW OUT
Roz SAFE IN IN OUT
Rebecca Corry IN SAFE OUT
Kristin Key IN IN OUT
Gabriel Iglesias IN IN DQ
Joey Gay IN OUT
Bil Dwyer IN OUT
April Macie OUT
Stella Stolper OUT
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge
     WIN means the comic participated and won the head-to-head showdown
     LOW means the comic was shown as receiving the second-lowest viewer vote total
     OUT means the comic lost in the head-to-head showdown or by viewer voting and was eliminated
     DQ means the comic was disqualified for breaking the show's rules

Season 5 (Summer 2007)

Main article: Last Comic Standing 5

Last Comic Standing returned for a fifth season in the summer of 2007. Comedian Bill Bellamy hosted the show. The winner got $250,000 along with an NBC Universal contract and a Bravo special. Unlike previous versions, this season featured comics from around the world competing alongside Americans. Auditions were held in London, Montreal, Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, San Antonio and Tempe.[3] The fifth season began June 13.[4] This series premiered on British music channel TMF on July 4, 2007.

The final ten comics were Lavell Crawford, Jon Reep, Gerry Dee, Amy Schumer, Ralph Harris, Doug Benson, Matt Kirshen, Debra DiGiovanni, Dante, and Gina Yashere.

The season finale aired on September 19, 2007 in which Jon Reep was revealed as the winner. Lavell Crawford was the season 5 runner-up.

It is the first season to be shot on video than film.

Elimination Chart
Comics Head-to-head Public elimination
Ep 7 Ep 8 Ep 9 Ep 10 Ep 11 Ep 12 Ep 13
Jon Reep IN SAFE IN IN IN IN LCS
Lavell Crawford SAFE IN IN IN IN IN OUT
Gerry Dee IN IN IN IN IN OUT
Amy Schumer IN IN SAFE IN OUT
Ralph Harris WIN IN WIN OUT
Doug Benson IN IN OUT
Matt Kirshen IN WIN OUT
Debra DiGiovanni IN OUT
Dante OUT
Gina Yashere OUT
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge
     WIN means the comic participated and won the head-to-head showdown
     OUT means the comic lost the head-to-head showdown or by viewer voting and was eliminated

Season 6 (Summer 2008)

Main article: Last Comic Standing 6

Bill Bellamy once again hosted. British television host Fearne Cotton joined him as co-host.

Season 6 semi-final rounds were held and filmed in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel & Casino. The season finale also aired from Las Vegas. The season premiered on May 22, 2008, and was being shown in Britain on Paramount Comedy.

The season finale aired on August 7, 2008 during which Iliza Shlesinger was revealed as the winner, the first and only female to win the title. Marcus was the season 6 runner-up.

Elimination Chart
Comics Head-to-head Public Elimination
Ep 8 Ep 9 Ep 10 Ep 11 Ep 12
Iliza Shlesinger WIN WIN IN IN LCS
Marcus IN IN SAFE IN OUT
Jeff Dye IN SAFE IN IN OUT
Jim Tavare SAFE IN IN IN OUT
Louis Ramey IN IN IN IN OUT
Sean Cullen IN IN IN OUT
Ron G. IN IN IN OUT
Adam Hunter IN IN IN OUT
Papa CJ IN OUT
Paul Foot IN OUT
Esther Ku OUT
God's Pottery OUT
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge
     WIN means the comic participated and won the head-to-head showdown
     OUT means the comic lost the head-to-head showdown or by viewer voting and was eliminated

Season 7 (Summer 2010)

A casting call appeared on the Casting Page on NBC.com, announcing auditions in Los Angeles and New York. The seventh season premiered on June 7, 2010, hosted by Craig Robinson. The show was again reworked following a format similar to the one used for Season 3, without a House or Challenges, with voting beginning right after the Semi-Finals. The judges for season 7 were Greg Giraldo, Natasha Leggero, and Andy Kindler. Comedians that have appeared this season include James Adomian, Jim David, Christina Pazsitzky, Kirk Fox, Jimmy Dore, Michael J. Herbert, Myq Kaplan, Tiffany Haddish, Cathy Ladman, Jamie Lee, Kurt Metzger, Ryan Hamilton, Brian McKim, Adrienne Iapalucci, Jerry Rocha, Paula Bel, Rachel Feinstein, Jeff Ragsdale, Jesse Joyce, Kyle Grooms, Jonathan Thymius, Felipe Esparza, Shane Mauss, Jason Weems, Amanda Melson, Chip Pope, Claudia Cogan, Nikki Glaser, Taylor Williamson, Alycia Cooper and David Feldman. The winner was Felipe Esparza.

Elimination Chart
Comics Public Elimination
Ep 6 Ep 7 Ep 8 Ep 9 Ep 10
Felipe Esparza IN IN IN IN LCS
Tommy Johnagin IN IN IN IN OUT
Roy Wood, Jr. IN IN IN IN OUT
Mike DeStefano IN IN IN IN OUT
Myq Kaplan IN IN IN IN OUT
Jonathan Thymius IN IN IN OUT
Rachel Feinstein IN IN OUT
Maronzio Vance IN OUT
Laurie Kilmartin IN OUT
James Adomian IN OUT
     LCS means the comic was the last comic standing
     OUT means the comic was eliminated based on viewer votes

Season 8 (Summer 2014)

Last Comic Standing will return for an eighth season in summer 2014.[1]

Controversy

During season two, a panel of four celebrity judges was used to shrink the field of 40 semifinalists to ten finalists. The celebrity judges rated each of the semifinalists as they performed, and cast votes for the 10 top comedians. When the ten finalists were announced they did not seem to correspond with the judges' votes, which the judges noticed. Two celebrity judges, comedians Drew Carey and Brett Butler, left the judges' table visibly angry after the finalists were announced.

The two were shown backstage arguing with producers. Carey and Butler did not understand how the finalists who were announced could be correct, given the way the judges had voted. It was revealed that a panel of four producers were also casting votes in the process, assuring that unless all four celebrity judges cast exactly the same ten votes, their voting power could be usurped by the four unanimously agreeing producers. If for some reason all four celebrity judges did cast exactly the same votes, the worst the producers would be faced with was a tie.

Upon news of this information, Carey became angry that the producers made it seem he had a deciding vote in the outcome of the show, calling the situation "crooked and dishonest."[5] It was also revealed that some of the finalists who advanced were clients or employees of the producers or directors of the show.[6]

Allegedly, some of the competitors in opening rounds were plants hired by the producers to give bad performances in order to liven up the auditions on television.[7] For example, Buck Star, a lackluster comedian who followed talent executives Bob Read and Ross Mark to auditions across the country, is rumored to have been a production assistant for NBC.[8] All of his brief auditions were filmed and survived the editing, strengthening the argument that he was a plant.

Auditions

Mark Breslin, owner of Yuk Yuk's comedy clubs which hosted the Toronto audition for season 6, described the audition process actually employed during those auditions. He explained that while anyone who wanted to could wait in line to audition, most would be berated and embarrassed by the panel of judges and then dismissed after only one joke.

Top local agents are usually given a number of specific call times for their clients. The first round of auditions were for a producer early in the morning, and those that were chosen came back for the celebrity judges in the afternoon. Breslin also confirmed that, while only two were shown advancing in the final broadcast, four comics had been initially chosen to advance to the finals.[9] Brian Lazanik, one of the two finalists who did not end up at the Vegas finals, has said that he was also chosen as a finalist in season 5's Toronto auditions, but was similarly cut. Producers for the show called his agent, urging him to try out again for season 6.[10][11]

Appearances by comics

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Goldberg, Lesley (November 13, 2013). "NBC, Wanda Sykes Revive 'Last Comic Standing' for Summer 2014". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 13, 2013. 
  2. ↑ New York Times
  3. ↑ "NBC's "Last Comic Standing" Live Tour". North Shore Music Theatre. Retrieved May 15, 2007. 
  4. ↑ Zap2it.com
  5. ↑ Rogers, Steve (March 8, 2004). "'Last Comic Standing 2' judges cry foul, call Top 10 selection process "crooked and dishonest"". Reality TV World. Retrieved September 18, 2009. 
  6. ↑ "Last Comic Standing 2 – NBC". Reality TV Calendar. June 21, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2008. 
  7. ↑ "'Last Comic Standing' has some funny business". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 14, 2004. 
  8. ↑ CrinbeHumor.com
  9. ↑ Canuck comics ready to take on the Yanks
  10. ↑ A funny thing happened on the way to the show
  11. ↑ Comedian with class, if not the prize. "...four Toronto-based wits – Deb DiGiovanni, Gerry Dee, Brian Lazanik and Dan Licoppe – were selected for the [season 5] semifinals in Los Angeles."

External links

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