Last Comic Standing: The Judges Speak Out About Season 8

It’s four days before Last Comic Standing premiers on NBC and there hasn’t been a lot of information released about how the show’s going to run, but four YouTube videos released today showing interviews with JB Smoove and the judges, (Russell Peters, Roseanne and Keenan Ivory Wayans) give a few more clues about what’s coming up on Season Eight.

We already knew that 100 comedians were invited to the “invitational rounds” and that the celebrity judges would be making eliminations.  Roseanne revealed that there were four invitational rounds, with 25 comedians in each.  On each of those nights, the judges were told to narrow down to the five best.  Keenan confirmed this, and divulged that there would be twenty comedians heading to the semifinals. The top 20 will then be narrowed down to ten who will advance to the challenge rounds.   The judges also confirmed that you won’t just be seeing young comedians out there battling for the prize, you’ll see some of the top guys in the game competing for their chance at the big prize.

The biggest change about this season, according to JB Smoove, is that now we have “JB Smoove” who “knows a whole lot about a whole lot of things.”   He also wants all of us to know that some people uppercut, but not him– he jabs.  So get read for jabs.

Keenan revealed some of his judging philosophy.  He says the person that’s going to win is going to be original, personable, have a star quality, and stand out from the other contestants.  What does that really mean?  As a disciple of Richard Pryor, he likes to see a comedian who brings things from their own life, their own world, and their family life to the stage, and also brings with them a strong point of view.

You can watch the clips from the interviews  and visit our “Last Comic Standing” page throughout the competition for updates, conversations and clips.

 

 

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