Last Comic Standing

Hosted by Bill Bellamy, "Last Comic Standing" is the popular NBC show that features comedic hopefuls vying to the top prize. The show is in its fifth season and this year, producers decided to include not only American cities in the auditions, but also Montreal, Canada, London, England, and Sydney, Australia. American auditions were held in the following cities: New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and Tempe.

The best comedians from each audition are called back to a live audition that night. The judges vote on who moves on, but the audience usually gets to vote one comedian as the audience favorite (this option was not available during the international auditions this season) to also move on to the next round. This year's judges are three former contestants: Ant (from season 2), Alonzo Bodden (winner of season 3), and Kathleen Madigan (also from season 2).

Eventually, the contestants are narrowed down to the ten comedians who will live in a house together, although last year's "house" was the RMS Queen Mary. These contestants face a weekly challenge. In the past, these challenges have included performed at a Laundromat, participating in a roast, and writing a bit about a subject with little prep time. The winner of the challenge receives immunity, meaning they cannot be voted off the show that week. The viewing audience votes on the contestants and each week, one is eliminated until there is one comedian standing. The winner gets $250,000 plus a contract with NBC and his or her half hour comedy special on the Bravo network.

Season 1

Season 1 began in the summer of 2003 and it was hosted by Jay Mohr. The winner was Dat Phan, with Ralphie May coming in second. Other contestants in the house that season were Rich Vos, Cory Kahaner, Tess Drake, Geoff Brown, Tere Joyce, Sean Kent, Dave Mordal, and Rob Cantrell.

Season 2

Season 2 started the summer of 2004 and again, it was hosted by Jay Mohr. The winner was John Heffron with Alonzo Bodden coming in second. Also in the house that season were Ant, Gary Gulman, Tammy Pescatelli, Bonnie McFarlane, Jay London, Kathleen Madigan, Todd Glass, and Corey Holcomb. Season 2 was also the start of infamous Buck Star, who would audition at several sites, but never made it past the live audition.

Season 3

Season 3 aired the fall of 2004. This season featured the final ten comedians from season 1 and 2 going against each other. The grand prize featured only the cash, not the contract or Bravo special. Alonzo Bodden won with Dave Mordal coming in second. Before this season ended, NBC cancelled the show due to poor ratings. The final episode was shown on Comedy Central. NBC did pick the show up again for season 4.

Season 4

Season 4 began in the summer of 2006 with a two-hour special. Anthony Clark appeared as the new host, replacing Jay Mohr. The winner of season 4 was Josh Blue, with Ty Barnett coming in second. Others in the house that season were Rebecca Corry, Kristin Key, Gabriel Iglesias (who was sent home for breaking the show rules by using a Blackberry), Michele Balan, Roz, April Macie, Joey Gay, Bil Dwyer, and Stella Stolper. Theo Von won a separate contest that was held online.

Season 5

Season 5 has just started, but already proved to be interesting. There is definitely a difference between the comedic styles of the American contestants versus the international contestants. Stay tuned to find out which contestant America finds the funniest!

Additional Last Comic Standing Resources

Latest Last Comic Standing News

Last Comic Standing: Jon Reep is the Winner!
Posted: 20 Sep 2007
As would be expected, there was a lot of filler stuff tonight on the two-hour Last Comic Standing finale. Carrot Top performed a hilarious set, saying, “I had better stuff but O.J. took it from my hotel room.” We also saw Kathleen, ANT, and Alonzo, the talent scouts. Robert Schimmel did a [...]

Last Comic Standing: Gerry Dee is Eliminated
Posted: 13 Sep 2007
I kinda felt it was coming, but it was heartbreaking when Gerry Dee went home tonight. He seems like such a nice guy, it was sad to see the tears. The first name called was Jon’s and honestly, Lavell looked like he was angry. I’m not sure what was up with that. [...]

Last Comic Standing: Amy Schumer is Eliminated
Posted: 6 Sep 2007
I was really surprised this week to hear Gerry Dee’s name called first as one of the comedians moving on to the final three. I thought his set was the weakest last week, but I guess the viewing public thought differently. He was better tonight with his jokes about the difference between men [...]

Last Comic Standing: Ralph Harris Leaves
Posted: 29 Aug 2007
I figured it might be the end of the road for Ralph and I was right. However, now I am beginning to wonder if any of the remaining four comics can really step up and take the title. I don’t know if they are getting low on material or what, but I just [...]