Amy Huberman, Aisling Bea, David McSavage and Jason Byrne are among the cast of LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland, the Graham Norton-hosted comedy show being made in Dublin for Prime Video, the Amazon-owned streaming service has announced.
The series, which is Prime Video’s first original in Ireland, will launch on its platform in 2024, the streamer said.
Deirdre O’Kane, Catherine Bohart, Martin Angolo, Paul Tylak, Emma Doran and Tony Cantwell complete the line-up of 10 participants in the show, which is produced for Prime Video by Irish company Kite Entertainment. The commissioning of the series, plus Norton’s involvement, was first revealed last month.
Norton will oversee the 10 comedic stars as they are brought together in a room to make each other laugh “using every unpredictable comedic tool in the box . . . without cracking a smile themselves”.
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The series, which will also include cameos from Irish celebrities, sees the comedian who outlasts their competitors and avoids laughing winning €50,000 for their charity of choice.
The format is an iteration of the successful Japanese Amazon Original series Documental, created by and starring Hitoshi Matsumoto and owned by Yoshimoto Kogyo, although in this case comedians bet their own money in a “battle of laughter behind closed doors”.
LOL: Last One Laughing has become the most watched Prime Video title in Italy, France and Germany, with national versions also produced in Mexico, Australia, India, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Colombia, Brazil and Sweden and one on the way in South Africa.
Kite Entertainment, led by managing director Darren Smith, is the company behind television series such as Gogglebox Ireland and Ireland’s Got Talent for Virgin Media Television, Ireland’s Fittest Family and Big Life Fix for RTÉ and The Deirdre O’Kane Show for Sky.
The show will be executive produced by Smith and Mairéad Whelan, with David Noble as series producer and Stephen Bradley as story producer. Danny Tate, who directed LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, will direct.
