Dish on LCS, from the Left Coast
A spy from Los Angeles sent us an email, from which we extracted he following:
1. Anthony Clark will host LCS IV. He has signed a 3-year contract, so I guess NBC is banking on LCS being a ratings hit again…
2. There will be NO HOUSE this time, just comedy — NBC wants it to be more the comedy version of American Idol.
3. …the Simon Cowell of LCS IV (a producer of the show) is tearing up established comics left and right… trying to make a scene… to be like American Idol.
4. Comics with numerous Tonight Show appearances to their credit (among other things) auditioned in LA at the Improv only to be “Simonized.” (Our term, not his– Editors)
5. Comics who have already made it on LCS IV: Gabriel Iglesias, Gene Pompa, Tig
The author warns that these are just some L.A.-based comics who’ve made it and that, if other comics from other cities are added, these folks may be cut. Hmmm… Stay tuned. We’re not saying any of this is true… but it certainly sounds plausible. (And, in defense of Simon Cowell, he is not uniformly nasty or unnecessarily so. He is knowledgeable, he is sharp and he is honest. Might it be giving this LCS producer too much credit to compare him to Cowell?)
Sounds less like reality programming and more like a comedy contest… which, to be quite honest, is reality programming. The more things change…
No Responses
Reply to: Dish on LCS, from the Left Coast
Wait a minute. No house?No house? Just comedy.As in…what they had in LCS III, which everyone admits was a huge mistake?The general public doesn’t want to judge comedians–they really don’t know how… They DO, however, like to watch people interact–especially when there are egos involved…and those with egos are competing with others who have egos…and have the quickness and wit to say some clever things…I mean…with no house, what purpose is there in casting the show the way they are? Why not JUST go with known comics who are hired by a casting director?I mean, if there’s no point in putting people of various types together in a house…then how on earth could anyone expect to be cast for this show with the maximum 3 minute look/see? If it’s all comedy, they couldn’t possibly pick anyone with less than headliner amount of time…because, unlike American Idol, where they sing other people’s songs and the judging can be on their voice and stage presence–all about HOW something is being sung, without much concern about WHAT is being sung–COMEDY on television devours material.I was a fan of LCS I…I was worried by LCS II, but I still watched…I was underwhelmed by LCS III… I can’t say that I’ve got positive feelings about LCS IV (despite knowing at least one person who made it through LA and one person who made it through Tempe.)pg–seattle