‘Last Comic’ bringing laughs to Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a stand-up town. Which explains why NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” is back in town.
Returning May 22 for a sixth season, the show will tape semifinal episodes at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Paris Las Vegas, as 30 stand-up contestants vie for the title.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Free tickets will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Paris box office.
Audiences will see “a great mix” of comics — and comedy styles — during the two 90-minute shows, promises executive producer David Friedman.
And for performers hoping to see their “name in the lights,” Friedman adds, “what better city to do it in than Las Vegas?” Not once but twice, because “Last Comic Standing” will return to Pair-a-dice for this summer’s season finale.
Going for the glow: Tanning’s definitely in season as the E! series “Sunset Tan” expands beyond its Southern California base, checking into the Palms through May.
“Sunset Tan’s” latest branch will play a “very significant” role in the eight-episode second season, explains executive producer Jay James, senior vice president of development for E! Studios Productions.
And that’s more than fine with E! officials, who note strong ratings every time Las Vegas plays a role onscreen. “It’s the promise of fun and excitement,” James suggests. “There’s something provocative about Las Vegas that makes you want to stay tuned.”
“Weekends” warrior: With a show titled “Passport to Great Weekends,” a Las Vegas episode qualifies as a total no-brainer, acknowledges Travel Channel host Samantha Brown, who was scheduled to wrap a four-day shoot Sunday devoted to her own great Vegas weekend. Highlighting her itinerary: a Pussycat Dolls rehearsal and a luxury shopping spree.
It’s been four years since Brown last visited Glitter City and the changes “never cease to amaze me,” she admits, citing “the desire, and the answering of that desire, for bigger and better” everything. “There’s no other place like this on the planet.”
“Fit” vs. fat: More than a dozen first- through fifth-graders (and more than a few parents) are expected Thursday at KLVX-TV, Channel 10, Las Vegas’ PBS affiliate, to launch “Keeping Kids Fit,” a community outreach project designed to battle childhood obesity.
The kids, from Laughlin and Searchlight, will receive digital cameras to “record their thoughts and observations on exercise and nutrition,” explains Lee Solonche, director of educational media services for Vegas PBS. “Hopefully kids talking to kids” will have an impact online and in two TV specials, he says.
Next fall, other Southern Nevada schools will join the project, funded by a $200,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Carol Cling’s Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at (702) 383-0272 or e-mail her at ccling@ reviewjournal.com.