Comeback for US talent show

The comedy talent show Last Comic Standing is to return to American TV screens for the first time in four years.

The format, in which comics have to compete in various challenges, has proved remarkably resilient. Series three was cancelled by NBC before the final aired in 2003 because of poor ratings, but it returned in 2006 for three consecutive years, and after a year off, ran again in 2010.

Producers have previously looked to the UK for contestants, too, giving some comedians a vital foothold on the US circuit. After auditions in London in 2007, Gina Yashere and Matt Kirshen made the final ten. Yashere gained enough exposure to focus her career on the States, despite being knocked out in the first elimination show, and Kirshen lasted two more weeks.

In the 2008 series, Jim Tavare came fourth, and Paul Foot and Papa CJ, an Indian comic who was based in the UK at the time, were knocked out in the second elimination show.

The series has also provided a vital springboard to US acts such as Alonzo Bodden, Kathleen Madigan and Gabriel Inglesias.

Season eight is scheduled to debut on NBC in summer 2014, although a host has not yet been announced. Wanda Skyes will be an executive producer.

Published: 14 Nov 2013