‘What will it take to make Richard Ayoade laugh?’ If you find this question about as enticing as ‘Whose turn is it to deworm the cat?’ or ‘What is Keir Starmer’s favourite plant-based ready meal?’ I really don’t blame you. But still if you watch Last One Laughing (Amazon Prime), I think you might change your mind.
The idea of this reality series is to confine ten comedians for six hours in a Big Brother-style enclosure and ban them, on pain of expulsion, from being amused by one another’s jokes. One misplaced smirk gets you a yellow card; the next ill-judged titter and you’re out on your ear. The winner, as per the title, is the last one laughing.
It began life in Japan in 2016 (under the bizarre name Documental) and has since been formatted in 28 countries, proving as big a success for Amazon Prime as such heavy hitters as Clarkson’s Farm and Reacher. Quick, easy and presumably cheap to make – half a day’s filming in a studio and it’s done – it’s surprisingly funny and horribly addictive.
Part of the fun is watching so many over-indulged, lightly woke, painfully ubiquitous TV comics being tortured simultaneously. Laughter is their lifeblood. When they don’t get enough of it, it means they’re dying. Yet here they are, imprisoned in a garish hell zone, where no matter how hard they try to amuse the only reaction they get is apparent boredom, indifference or disdain.
You’d think the eventual winner would inevitably be the one who is the funniest. But this isn’t necessarily the case. At least as important as the attack – i.e.,
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in