‘Last Comic Standing”raided’ talent and ideas from ‘Who’s Got Jokes?,’ producer says

On TV One’s “Who’s Got Jokes,” comedians have been challenged to keep their composure while getting an unexpected pie in the face, or while the audience has been secretly told not to laugh, or when an insistent heckler has stood up.

Last week, while filming the entire fifth season at the Luxor, actor Tiny Lister (from “Friday” and “Next Friday”) suddenly appeared and started faux-choking a comic on stage.

If you think any of this sounds like “Last Comic Standing” (but with a predominantly black cast and crew), well you’re right and you’re wrong.

A few years ago, “Last Comic Standing” stole host Bill Bellamy from “Who’s Got Jokes,” as well as some of the TV One show’s better comedians and its on-stage situational challenges, says co-executive producer Carl Craig. He says he received a head’s-up call from an executive of “Last Comic Standing.”

“She said, ‘I’m just gonna raid your show.' She apologized,” Craig says. “To be honest, I was mad at Bill for taking it. We had him first. … But then I was really happy. It led to more exposure for us.”

On the other hand, “Last Comic Standing” came first.

“Who’s Got Jokes?” Executive Producer Ralph Farquhar didn’t even mean to pitch the show to TV One. He was on the phone with a TV One exec one day when he joked he could make a show where comics had to tell clean bits. Some time later, that executive called back with an offer.

“I said, ‘What show? I was joking,’” Farquhar says.

But he went ahead and developed “Jokes.” After four seasons, TV One requested he tape a season in Vegas. They set up shop in a Luxor ballroom Tuesday through Saturday.

“When you have a show in Vegas, ratings go up,” Farquhar explains.

Farquhar worried shooting in Vegas would be too expensive, and the ballroom too small. But he found audiences on vacation here are prime to be entertained. The ballroom sounded and looked splendid, with its grandiose chandeliers. And celebrity judges don’t turn down free trips to Vegas.

“It’s really the best move we’ve made so far,” Farquhar says.

Evander Holyfield was just one of the star judges, and Bobby Brown performed on the show. The show begins running on TV One in the fall.

Read my column in Monday's Review-Journal for a look at the Las Vegas finalists, their jokes, and the tragedy that punctuated their friendship.