Boxing Clever: Last One Laughing UK
Every week, Michael Telfer – aka Mike TV – recommends a box set to crack open. This week’s choice is a laugh a minute, for the viewers rather than the contestants.
Recently there has been a spate of documentaries uncovering the darker side of some of the biggest TV reality series of the 90s and noughties. Contestants from shows like America’s Next top Model or The Biggest Loser talk hauntingly about how they were bullied into dental surgery they didn’t want, or nearly killed by over-enthusiastic personal trainers in the name of light entertainment.
I like to imagine contestants from Last One Laughing telling similar stories on Netflix documentaries 20 years from now.
Harriet Kemsley will describe trying (and failing) to keep a straight face while Richard Ayoade, Rob Beckett and Lou Sanders took turns butchering the chorus from Minnie Riperton’s Lovin’ You. Gbemisola Ikumelo will recount being in tears trying not to laugh at Diane Morgan reciting Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and poignantly breaking wind between lines. The internal scars will last a long time.
For those who don’t already know, Last One Laughing is a show on Amazon Prime with a very simple premise. Ten comedians go into a room with one rule; don’t laugh or smile. The last one to fold wins.
Thankfully for us, there are dozens of cameras to catch every quip, twitch, innuendo and bead of sweat; and most importantly we are allowed to laugh as much as we like.
The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr, who watches proceedings alongside excellent comedian and writer Roisin Conaty (and all the other comics as they fold) on a bank of screens that would make an 80s supervillain envious.
He also intervenes whenever it looks like the contestants are getting too comfortable, by introducing a task or asking one of the comedians to ‘play their joker’ (put on a show) for the others.
Season One was released on Prime in March 2025, and quickly became the platform’s biggest UK launch ever, with well over two million views. It featured Bob Mortimer, Richard Ayoade, Rob Beckett, Lou Sanders, Harriet Kemsley, Daisy May Cooper, Judi Love, Joe Wilkinson, Joe Lycett and Sara Pascoe, as well as guest appearances from Nick Mohammed, Danny Dyer and Alison Hammond.
Over six episodes there were countless unforgettable moments to enjoy in the comfort of your home, free to chortle as loudly as you like. Every time Daisy May Cooper held in a laugh she looked like she’d swallowed every one of the animals in the nursery rhyme and was desperately trying to stop them escaping.
Deadpan comedians like Richard Ayoade initially seemed to have the upper hand, but even the stiffest upper lips started to wobble as the hours passed, and the yellow and red cards soon started flowing.
By the time we were down to the last two comedians it was as captivating and tense as anything television has thrown at us. It was Frost vs Nixon, Ali vs Frazier, Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs and Gareth vs Tim in The Office all rolled into one.
Season Two landed last month, with the finale airing on April 2, and was every bit as good as the first.
The line up this time round features Romesh Ranganathan, Diane Morgan, Amy Gledhill, Maisie Adam, Alan Carr, Gbemisola Ikumelo, David Mitchell, Sam Campbell, Mel Giedroyc and the returning champion from the first season (no spoilers here).
Richard Madeley, Natasia Demetriou, Ellie White, Johnny White Really-Really and Mark Silcox pop up at various intervals to test the contestants’ mettle.
The second season demonstrates there’s plenty of life in the formula, and as Taskmaster has shown, there is a rich and deep seam of British comedic talent to mine for future series.
LOL is one of those shows with pretty much universal appeal, which anyone with a funny bone will thoroughly enjoy. All 12 Episodes from Seasons 1 & 2 are available to stream now on Amazon Prime.