TVSquad

Maybe it's because NBC needs programming, especially during the summer. Maybe it's because the network needed a companion to 'America's Got Talent.' But it does seem like 'Last Comic Standing' has become the 'According to Jim' of reality shows, doesn't it? The show just doesn't die, no matter how much NBC and its producers have tried to kill it.

The folks who brought us the genius idea of Jay Leno at 10PM has decided to resurrect 'Last Comic,' which they canned in 2008, for a summer run, according to Joe Adalian at The Wrap. Craig Robinson of 'The Office' and the forthcoming comedy flick 'Hot Tub Time Machine' has been tabbed to host.

At least the new host gives me hope for this new version. Robinson has a great comic presence, whether he's intimidating Michael Scott as warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin, or just doing his stand-up at a local club. He'll be funnier than Bill Bellamy and more confident than Anthony Clark, two of the show's previous hosts (Jay Mohr was the original host... and quite good).

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.

• At 8, FOX has the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• NBC has a new Last Comic Standing at 8, then a new America's Got Talent.
• Discovery Channel has two new episodes of Some Assembly Required at 8.
• G4 has a new X-Play at 8.
• Starting at 8:30, HGTV has new episodes of Myles of Style, Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• At 9, TBS has two new episodes of The Bill Engvall Show, followed by a new My Boys.
• ESPN2 has Little League Baseball at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new Flashpoint.
• USA has a new Burn Notice at 10.
• Comedy Central has a new Gong Show at 10, followed by a new Reality Bites Back.
• There's a new Ace of Cakes on Food Network at 10.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Works at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• TV Land has an Andy Griffith Show marathon tonight while CMT has a Scott Baio Is 46...And Pregnant marathon.
• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• NBC has a new, two hour Last Comic Standing at 8, followed by a new Fear Itself.
• FOX has new episodes of Don't Forget The Lyrics and So You Think You Can Dance.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Myles of Style, followed by new episodes of Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• At 9, History Channel has a new Modern Marvels, then a new episode of The Works.
• At 10, ABC has a the season finale of Hopkins.
• CBS has a new Flashpoint at 10.
• There's a new Burn Notice on USA at 10.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List at 10.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10.
• Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new Gong Show, then a new Reality Bites Back.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• G4 has live Comic-Con coverage until 10pm.
• At 8, CBS has a new Greatest American Dog.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8, then a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• NBC has a new, two hour Last Comic Standing at 8, followed by a new Fear Itself.
• Cartoon Network has a new Chowder at 8, then new episodes of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Total Drama Island.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Myles of Style, then new episodes of Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• At 9, TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show, then a new My Boys.
• TLC has a new American Chopper at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new Hopkins.
• CBS has a new Flashpoint at 10 (new night).
• There's a new Burn Notice on USA at 10.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List at 10.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10.
• Also at 10: History Channel has a new Modern Marvels, followed by a new episode of The Works.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has a new Greatest American Dog.
• NBC has a new, two hour Last Comic Standing at 8, followed by a new Fear Itself.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8, then a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• HGTV has all new episodes starting at 8: Designed To Sell, Myles of Style, Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• Also at 8: Cartoon Network has a new Chowder, then new episodes of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Total Drama Island.
• At 9, TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show, followed by a new My Boys.
• History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 9, then a new The Works.
• At 10, ABC has a new Hopkins.
• CBS has a new Swingtown at 10.
• There's a new Burn Notice on USA at 10.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 10.
• Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List at 10.
• The new Gong Show premieres on Comedy Central at 10. It's followed by the premiere of Reality Bites Back.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has the premiere of Greatest American Dog.
• TLC has two new episodes of Monster Garage at 8, then a new American Chopper.
• Versus has more coverage of the Tour de France at 8.
• There's a new Chowder on Cartoon Network at 9, followed by new episodes of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Total Drama Island.
• At 9, NBC has a new, two hour Last Comic Standing.
• TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show at 9, followed by a new My Boys.
• History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 9, then a new episode of The Works.
• Hallmark has the new movie A Gunfighter's Pledge at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new Swingtown.
• ABC has a new Hopkins at 10.
• USA has the season premiere of Burn Notice at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has a new, two hour Last Comic Standing, then a new Fear Itself.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8, followed by a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• At 9, TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show, then a new My Boys.
• HGTV has a new Rate My Space at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new Hopkins.
• CBS has a new Swingtown at 10.
• Sundance has a new Live From Abbey Road at 10, with David Gray and Suzanne Vega.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List.
• At 10:30, History Channel has a new Surviving History.
• Comedy Central has a new Reno 911 at 10:30.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, followed by a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• TLC has a new Overhaulin' at 8, then a new American Chopper.
• At 8:30, NBC has a new Last Comic Standing, then a new Fear Itself.
• At 9, TBS has a new Bill Engvall Show, followed by a new My Boys.
• At 10, CBS has a new Swingtown.
• There's a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List at 10 on Bravo.
• Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10.
• Also at 10: Sundance Channel has a new Live From Abbey Road, with Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, and Dashboard Confessional.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has another Celtics/Lakers game.
• CBS has a new Million Dollar Password (with Betty White!) at 8.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8, then a new So You Think You Can Dance.
• Also at 8: Cartoon Network has a new Chowder, then a new Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
• At 8:30, NBC has a new Last Comic Standing, followed by a new Fear Itself.
• At 9, TBS has the season premiere of The Bill Engvall Show, then the season premiere of My Boys.
• Bravo has the season premiere of My Life on the D List at 9, followed by The A List Awards.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new Swingtown.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has the first game of the Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals.
• FOX has a new, two hour So You Think You Can Dance at 8.
• HGTV has a new Designed To Sell at 8, then new episodes of Myles of Style and Divine Design.
• At 8:30, NBC has a new Last Comic Standing, then the premiere of Fear Itself.
• Also at 8:30: Cartoon Network has a new Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
• At 9, TV Land has four episodes of I Love Lucy.
• TLC has a new Miami Ink at 10.
• At 10, CBS has the premiere of Swingtown.
• NFLNet has a new NFL Total Access at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has a new, two hour So You Think You Can Dance.
• TCM has A Night To Remember at 8.
• At 8:30, NBC has a new Last Comic Standing.
• At 9, ABC has the two hour season finale of Lost.
• TNT has the Spurs/Lakers NBA Playoff Game at 9.
• At 10, Spike has a new TNA Impact!
• HGTV has a new House Hunters at 10.
• Bravo has the season finale of Step It Up & Dance at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

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."

• At 8, FOX has the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance.
• ABC has the season finale of Ugly Betty at 8, followed by the season finale of Grey's Anatomy.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, then the season premiere of Last Comic Standing.
• HGTV has a new Designed To Sell at 8, followed by new episodes of Myles of Style and Divine Design.
• At 8:30, ESPN has the NBA Playoffs.
• At 9, Cartoon Network has a new George of the Jungle.
• At 10, Spike has a new TNA Impact.
• At 10:15, HBO Comedy has a new First Look at the Sex and the City movie.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has the season premiere of Reno 911.

Check your local TV listings for more.

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...