LastComicStanding-related stories
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 10:07AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals
Usually I'm not a fan of reality television, but this new series has potential. ABC has
ordered a new show called
The Fast & the Funniest from two of the producers of
Last Comic Standing.
This comedian competition would be different than
Last Comic Standing because it would involve more travel and improvisation. It's easier to be funny when one is in a set location doing pre-rehearsed material. It's much harder when it's not known where the performance is and for whom.
Mind you, the description of the show is somewhat vague in the article. For all that is known, the show could be less like
Last Comic Standing and more like
Fear Factor. The competition could involve having the comedians eat bugs in the middle of the woods in Arkansas. Or possibly having them fight to the death with machetes. Or not.
Is there any comedian you'd like to see on this show? I vote for
Jay Black.
Posted May 23rd 2008 9:55AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Awards, TV Squad Awards
I'm in Los Angeles right now. From my observations: everyone is perfect looking, the weather is always beautiful, and everyone drives everywhere despite the fact that gas is approximately eleventy billion dollars a gallon and it doesn't appear that anyone is actually, you know,
working. LA doesn't exist in any kind of recognizable reality. Let's put it this way: if the guys in
Plato's cave were to figure out that the figures being cast onto their walls came from the Sunset Strip, they'd probably opt to stay chained up.
It stands to reason, then, that any genre springing to life in such an environment would bear no resemblance to what the rest of the world calls "reality". TV Squad therefore presents its first annual The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award, recognizing those shows that in no way reflect a life that any human being on the planet is actually living but, for some reason, call themselves "reality shows."
Continue reading The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award: Call for Considerations
Posted May 5th 2008 11:02AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Interviews, Celebrities
On Friday I attended the All-American Summer Press Event held by NBC Universal. The event was held at the Langham Hotel (formerly the Ritz-Carlton) in Pasadena, CA. It included the casts and producers of the following shows:
American Gladiators,
Nashville Star, Shear Genius, and
Last Comic Standing. NBC also held panels for two new shows:
Celebrity Circus and
Baby Borrowers.
Find out what Wolf said and what's in store for next season on NBC and Bravo after the jump...
Continue reading NBC Summer Press Event report
Posted Jun 21st 2007 9:33AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Last Comic Standing, Episode Reviews
(S05E03) My reviews of Last Comic Standing are going to be a bit different from Jay's so be forewarned. First of all, the entire premise of LCS is flawed both as a television production and as a talent contest. The main problem is that the show (like all reality shows) is so heavily edited that you only see what the producers want you to see. Now, that's fine for Big Brother or Survivor, but for a show that is supposed to be looking for talent it defeats the purpose. It would make more sense if the show were more like American Idol with performances from all the comics in every show, but to ask any comedian to come up with a new ten minutes every week is unfair, therefore it is what it is.
Continue reading Last Comic Standing: Los Angeles & Sydney auditions
Posted Sep 19th 2006 1:24PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, ABC, Industry, Programming
If you thought ABC learned their lesson with
The One, you were wrong. Like the little train that could, they keep chugging up reality TV mountain, confident that eventually they will get a little piece of that low production cost/high ratings action. The latest attempt comes from the producers of
Last Comic Standing and is called
The Imposter.
The show will search out the best impersonators in the country, whether they be actors, athletes, or musicians. The details are still being hammered out, but once the best impersonators are found they will all be brought together. Then they will compete in some sort of contest to determine the winner of an as yet undecided prize.
I suspect we will see an Idolesque first couple of episodes consisting mostly of the insane people that show up for a casting call like this. In fact, I think you can get even odds that
Man-Faye will be there. Plans call for a summer 2007 debut. And chances call for a summer 2007 cancellation.
Update: The Angelina Jolie lookalike pictured here is Tiffany Claus. You can find out more about her, and see more pictures at
her website.
Posted Jun 1st 2006 4:36PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has coverage of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I love this coverage and hate it at the same time. I love it because it's suspenseful and it's good to see "sports" coverage that's actually about reading and writing. But I hate it because it's incredibly nerve-wracking and I feel sorry for the kids under all that pressure. It's followed by a new Primetime.- CBS has another edition of Game Show Marathon at 8. Tonight they play Let's Make A Deal. Lance Bass couldn't get into space, but maybe he can dress as an astronaut and win a prize. It's followed by repeats of CSI and Without A Trace.
- NBC has four repeats of The Office, followed by a repeat of ER.
- Over on FOX, a repeat So You Think You Can Dance, followed by a new episode.
- The WB has a repeat Smallville at 8, then a repeat Supernatural, while UPN has repeats of Everybody Hates Chris, Love, Inc, Eve, and Cuts.
- Also at 8: Court TV has two new eps of Hot Pursuit.
- At 9, the Sci-Fi Channel has Abominable, about a legendary monster in the California mountains.
- At 10, Bravo repeats this week's Last Comic Standing.
Posted May 30th 2006 11:26PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, NBC, Talent, Programming, OpEd, Last Comic Standing
(S04E01) A couple of things about
Last Comic Standing has always bugged me a little bit: 1) Even in the later rounds of the show, they don't show nearly enough of a comedian's routine for the audience to get a good feel for what he or she can do, and 2) Half the people who get picked to move on are selected not as much for their comedic talents but for their backstories. That feeling hasn't changed in Season 4, the first time
LCS has aired since it's ill-conceived "Season 1 vs. Season 2" year ended with a whimper in December 2004.
This time around, we're back to the usual format, opening with a two-hour show where talent scouts Ross Mark and Bob Read comb the country for candidates to take to the semi-finals in L.A. They went to L.A., Tempe, Austin, New York, Chicago and Miami, auditioning what was considered the city's "best" -- and worst -- stand-ups. What struck me about the audition phase this year is how they decided to not show as many bad comedians as they had in the past, instead concentrating on maybe a half-dozen good comedians who happened to have nice back stories to tell.
Continue reading Last Comic Standing: Season 4 Premiere
Posted May 24th 2006 10:42AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Web
NBC is planning an online supplement to
Last Comic Standing when it debuts on May 30th. Each week, NBC.com will have five new video clips of the comics who didn't make it on to the television show. The website will feature five comics each week and the audience can vote on who they like the most. Viewers will choose winners over seven weeks and then the final two favorites will will get to make a primetime appearance on the television show.
By the way, I'm totally jealous of the
Last Comic Standing contestants. The 'house' they get to live in together this season is the Queen Mary cruise liner docked in Long Beach, CA.
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