Last Comic Standing: After the Armageddon

It’s been two weeks since Dat Phan was announced as the winner of Last Comic Standing, but that doesn’t mean that the comics have disappeared, or that the show is gone forever. So this week, we’re giving everyone an update on where you can find the comics performing near you, as well as how you can help NBC decide to do a second season of the series.

First off, thanks to everyone who has written in with their comments about the interviews we have done with Cory, Dave, Sean, and Jay over the past few weeks. We have just finished an interview with Rich Vos and hope that we’ll be able to finally complete our interview with Ralphie May within the next week. If other interviews become available, we’ll let you know.

Second, and most important, while LCS did great in the ratings – continuously beating out the competition at 9 on Tuesdays while being number one with the 18-49 age group, a very important sales group for the network – there is still uncertainty on the part of NBC if they will bring the show back soon. Bill Carter in the August 18th edition of the New York Times (“Push to Rule Summer TV Falls Short for Networks”) stated that although none of this summer’s reality shows reached the blockbuster numbers of American Idol last year, NBC was very happy with their ratings on their reality shows. In fact, the head of NBC Entertainment, Jerry Zucker, had this to say in the article:

"The bottom line is we feel great about this summer. We haven't enjoyed such a ratings advantage over our competitors during the summer in years, and as we look ahead we feel we can bring any one of these shows back next summer."

While that may look to be a good sign for Last Comic Standing, that doesn’t mean that NBC is definitely going to do a second season. What NBC, and to perhaps the same degree Comedy Central, need to be convinced is to know that fans will return to the show next time.

This is where we can come in and help. Frankly, I would like to see a second season of the show, and not just because I write about it, but because it gives comedians a chance to be seen on a national level doing what they do best – their comedy acts. If you would like to see the show come back again, we need to make our voices heard at NBC and Comedy Central. And to help, we’ve done some research to make it easier for readers to contact NBC and Comedy Central about the show.

Where to Contact:

The best way to contact NBC is through their website, www.nbc.com. Here’s a direct link to the contact page on the site: http://www.nbc.com/nbc/footer/Contact_Us.shtml Once there, you can email them about LCS by going to the pulldown window and clicking on “Last Comic Standing.” You should see a pre-address email pop up for you to fill out and send on if you’re on Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can also send a letter via the post office by writing to:

Last Comic Standing
c/o NBC Programming
Viewer Relations
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

As for Comedy Central, you can contact them at the following link: http://www.comedycentral.com/help/questionsCC.jhtml. It works in much the same fashion as the NBC link listed above. Once there, you should see a submission form that can be filled out. From their FAQ, Comedy Central does not accept letters pertaining to shows, so the link is your best bet to have them see what you have to say. In fact, it is strongly suggested that you check out both NBC’s and Comedy Central’s FAQ pages first before sending anything off. Last thing you want to do is spend time writing something only for it to not conform with what they expect to see in messages.

Which leads us to . . .

What to say:

Keep it clear and keep it polite. You may be one of the fans who did not like Dat Phan, or you may have thought all the other comedians were punks for treating him badly. Either way, that type of mention in your letter is not necessary. The show is over with and yelling at NBC or CC about the contest is hardly going to convince them to renew the show. Nor are suggestions for changes to the show going to be helpful – believe me, the producers are way ahead of us in what worked and didn’t work on the show and are already making changes to the program if there is a second season so that it’ll be even better next time around.