I’ve been needing to laugh much more than usual lately–probably because the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale is airing while we are living it—so I’ve been seeking out the funny in every possible format: sitcoms, talk shows, stand-up specials, whatever it takes. What I wasn’t expecting was belly laughs from a reality show. Now, normally, I despise reality shows (Survivor, Great British Baking Show and Amazing Race are, of course, forgiven because they are, well, forever in the pantheon) but sometimes you just have to go outside your comfort zone and test the waters to see if something off the radar just might be worthwhile.
Raise your hand if you knew that there has been an international reality series airing on Prime since 2016 whose premise is to lock ten comedians in a room, Big Brother-style, for 6 hours and challenge them to make each other laugh. But here’s the rub: if ANYONE laughs, giggles or even smiles, they are out. The last one left wins. That’s it. In most cases, what they win is money, in some cases, it’s just a trophy. But the point is to be the last one without a smile on their face. And, trust me, that is so much funnier than it sounds.