Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as a winner. For the first seven seasons, the winner received a cash prize and a television special; for season eight in 2014, the winner won a cash prize, a talent deal with NBC, and a half-hour scripted project developed by Universal Television.
Format The show varied its format season by season. For seasons 1–2 and 4–7, 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 selected comics to participate in callback auditions in front of live audiences. Mark and Read 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; the comics performed competing against each other at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. During the semifinal qualifying rounds, a panel of celebrity judges, and the show's producers, selected the finalists who would move forward to the final qualifying round, and live together in a group residence.
Once the residence finalists were selected, the comics participated in some type of comedic challenge each television week. 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 related to a specific subject with little preparation time on a radio show. Usually the winner of each challenge is rewarded with immunity from being eliminated from the competition for that week; the remaining comics are vulnerable to elimination during 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 occurs in front of a live studio audience. For the first seven seasons, the studio audience voted electronically for their preferred performer, while in the eighth season the judges always selected the winner. The winning comic remains "in the house", while the losing comic is eliminated from the competition.
For the first seven seasons, 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 calling 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 receiving the lowest number of votes each week was eliminated from the competition, until there was only the "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.
The third season was also unique in that it pitted the contestants of the first two seasons against one another.
Seasons Season 1 (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 chartComics 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 TessSAFE SAFE IN IN IN OUT Geoff Brown IN IN IN IN OUT Dave MordalWIN IN IN IN OUT Rob Cantrell IN IN OUT Tere Joyce IN OUT Sean KentOUT
LCS means the comic was the last comic standing SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge WIN means the comic participated in and won a head-to-head showdown OUT means the comic was the runner-up OUT means the comic lost a head-to-head showdown or viewer vote, and was eliminated
Season 2 (2004) Season two aired in the summer of 2004, hosted by Jay Mohr. The Last Comic Standing 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, and Corey Holcomb.
Buck Star, who became infamous for appearing at every LCS audition, first appeared in season two. After being repeatedly rejected by talent scouts Mark and Read, Mark acquiesced, allowing Buck to perform in the callback auditions in Tampa, Florida (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 chartComics Head-to-head Wild card Public elimination Ep 5 Ep 6 Ep 7 Ep 8 Ep 9 Ep 11 Ep 13 Ep 15 John HeffronWIN 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 HolcombSAFE IN IN IN OUT OUT Ant IN SAFE OUT OUT Todd Glass IN OUT OUT Bonnie McFarlaneOUT OUT
LCS means the comic was the last comic standing SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge WIN means the comic participated in and won a head-to-head showdown WIN means the comic won the wildcard and returned to the show OUT means the comic lost a head-to-head showdown or viewer vote, and was eliminated OUT means the comic competed for the wildcard and lost
Season 3 (2004) While Season 2 was still 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 for the season was only $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 place men were John Heffron, the Season 2 winner and Rich Vos, the third place man from Season 1. Season 2's first-eliminated Bonnie McFarlane (whom Vos would marry the following year) chose not to participate in this season for unspecified reasons, leaving the other Season 2 comedians to select her replacement from among four comics who made it to that season's Las Vegas finals round; their near-unanimous choice was Jessica Kirson. Celebrities appearing in the season were Jeffrey Ross, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Louie Anderson and Carrot Top. Episodes were 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 FinaleAlonzo BoddenWIN WIN WIN LCSDave Mordal IN IN IN OUTJohn HeffronWIN WIN WIN OUTRich Vos IN IN IN OUTGary Gulman WIN WIN OUT Tess IN IN OUT Todd GlassWIN 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 PescatelliWIN OUT Rob Cantrell IN OUT Corey Holcomb OUT Tere Joyce OUT Jessica KirsonOUT Cory KahaneyOUT
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 (2006)
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 chartComics 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 PorterSAFE WIN IN IN LOW OUT Michele BalanWIN WIN IN LOW OUT RozSAFE 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 MacieOUT Stella StolperOUT
LCS means the comic was the last comic standing SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge WIN means the comic participated in and won a head-to-head showdown LOW means the comic was shown as receiving the second-lowest viewer vote total OUT means the comic lost in a head-to-head showdown or viewer vote, and was eliminated DQ means the comic was disqualified for breaking the show's rules
Season 5 (2007)
Last Comic Standing returned for a fifth season in the summer of 2007. Comedian Bill Bellamy hosted the show. The winner received $250,000 along with an NBC Universal contract and a Bravo special. Unlike previous versions the 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. The fifth season began June 13. 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; Jon Reep was revealed as the winner. Lavell Crawford was the runner-up.
+Elimination chartComics 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 CrawfordSAFE IN IN IN IN IN OUT Gerry Dee IN IN IN IN IN OUT Amy Schumer IN IN SAFE IN OUT Ralph HarrisWIN IN WIN OUT Doug Benson IN IN OUT Matt Kirshen IN WIN OUT Debra DiGiovanni IN OUT DanteOUT Gina YashereOUT
LCS means the comic was the last comic standing SAFE means the comic won the immunity challenge