‘Last Comic Standing’ preview: Will anyone impress Ellen DeGeneres?
It’s been a long wait, but tomorrow night is the return of “Last Comic Standing” to NBC with actual new episodes. We’re still in the always-entertaining Challenge Round, and on paper the episode coming up could be a fun one. The remaining eight contestants are making an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” and will have to impress both her and her audience with their humor, candor, and ability to cater to a particular group of viewers.
So why in the world is “Ellen” chosen as the prime destination for this challenge? Typically, the venue for real comedians on TV is late-night, where they can be a little more filthy and cater to that comedy-loving crowd. The reason that Ellen was probably picked for this is threefold:
- She is a comedienne herself, and an extremely popular one who could get some viewers over to the show. Her friendship with Wanda Sykes also probably helps.
- She’s within the NBCUniversal family already, and since the winner of this show gets a development deal, the judges / bosses at the network probably want to see how they would cater to one potential viewing demographic.
- Finally, it pushes the comics out of their comfort zone to be on daytime television. This is all about not allowing the comics to use their banked material until they get to the showdowns.
We feel like the guys in trouble are probably those like Lachlan Patterson and Karlous Miller, mostly because their attitude is a little more offbeat and edgy than some of the others. Joe Machi is a wild card given that his humor is so dry, but some of the others could do very well. We expect big things here from Nikki Carr and Monroe Martin for their ability to mix humor with personal, relatable stories. Their comedy is close in some ways to Ellen’s own brand.
Of course, we’ll be back tomorrow night with a full take on the entire hour; for now, let us know who you think is going to advance in the comments! Also, sign up to get some further news worth laughing about sent to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: NBC