Much like TikTok or the black death, LOL: Last One Laughing (Prime Video, Friday, January 19th) arrives in Ireland at the end of a long journey around the globe. The format, in which famous-ish comedians are locked in a room and try to crack one another up, originated with Prime Video Japan and has spawned spin-offs in Argentina, Albania and elsewhere.
There is also a rogue Russian version made without the permission of Amazon – the comedy equivalent of a knock-off Gucci handbag or a toy that bursts into flame when you try to change the batteries.
Last One Laughing Ireland is hosted by Graham Norton, a wry and superhumanly avuncular presenter who, with this new gig, has ended up in the place furthest from funny in the entire universe. To say Last One Laughing is short of giggles is a bit like stating Ireland could do with a few more houses. It is hard to convey in words alone the sheer horror of what has ended up on the screen.
That’s despite Amazon assembling an impressive field of comics for its first original Irish production. Among those gathered at Font Hill Studios, near Liffey Valley shopping centre in Dublin, are Aisling Bea, Jason Byrne, Deirdre O’Kane and David McSavage, alongside younger stand-ups such as Martin Angolo and Catherine Bohart.
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One problem is that the format – chortle and you’re out – is a poor fit for Irish comedy, which thrives on spontaneity and shared laughter. Everyone seems vaguely ill at ease. The series also suffers from lack of structure. The cast mill about distractedly in the manner of hungry wedding guests waiting for the bride and groom.
Comedians make their entrance one by one, like contestants on Big Brother. Their mission is to extract a titter from their new housemates. Whoever maintains a stony face to the end wins the day – and a €50,000 donation to the charity of their choice.
They’re a temperamentally mixed bunch; some appear happier to be here than others. McSavage, who arrives dragging a wheelie bin and is soon stuffing cornflakes into his pockets, has the body language of an abandoned puppy. And that’s before he is required to participate in a skit in which the comedians have to put labels on a diagram of the female reproductive organs. Aiming for comedy, they’ve gone straight to David Cronenberg homage.
[ Last One Laughing Ireland: Behind the scenes with Graham Norton and Aisling BeaOpens in new window ]
Norton welcomes us by observing that “Ireland is a country where the weather is so awful laughing is compulsory from a very young age – a country where those who take themselves too seriously are viewed with serious suspicion”.
He’s also the referee, keeping tabs on the comics as they try to force one another to spit out a chuckle. There are complicated rules involving yellow and red cards. A deafening klaxon sounds like Clannad remixed by Prodigy. “The British are back,” quips Bea.
Things pick up in episode two as Ray D’Arcy and Zig and Zag beam in for a spot quiz – though most of the answers seem to be at the expense of Byrne (“What’s the difference between Jason Byrne and a funeral? Some people laugh at a funeral”). He takes the gags with good grace.
Viewers who have already ploughed through an hour of this anti-comedy onslaught may not be quite so forgiving. Last One Laughing is the worst thing to happen to Irish comedy since Brendan O’Carroll put on a frock for the first time.
