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Importing U.K.-based television shows to the United States doesn\u2019t exactly have the best track record<\/a>, but that doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t keep trying. As the second season of Last One Laughing UK<\/a> currently streaming on Amazon Prime approaches its (presumably hilarious) conclusion on April 2, we\u2019re forced to wonder: Well, why not just attempt an American version of the show? It\u2019d be one thing if Last One Laughing were just a British thing, but the show originates in Japan (where it\u2019s called Documental) and has had a bunch of international spinoffs. Look, they made it work in Canada<\/a>. Why not here?<\/p>\n The premise of Last One Laughing is simple: Ten comedians, or comedy-adjacent actors, are put in a rec room with props, food, and a stage and can do just about anything except laugh. Two laughs, and you\u2019re out. The last comic standing (and not laughing) wins. There are occasional games and improv prompts that the show\u2019s host (on the U.K. version, that\u2019s the ubiquitous Jimmy Carr) can force them to interact with, and each comedian shows up with a \u201cjoker\u201d prepared \u2014 basically a set, but it doesn\u2019t have to be stand-up or even anything that resembles their normal \u201croutine\u201d \u2014 in an attempt to get their fellow contestants to laugh first. But the fun of Last One Laughing is mostly in the mundane, free-for-all nature of gameplay that is people walking around and talking. In case any television executives from Amazon are reading this (hello!), we took the liberty of gathering ten comedians who we think would make formidable players on the (inevitable \u2014 we hope) first season of Last One Laughing: U.S.<\/p>\n You might say that Nathan Fielder\u2019s whole career to this point has been one long game of LOL. On Nathan for You, The Rehearsal, and even This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Fielder has routinely stared down real people saying outlandish stuff to him completely earnestly, and his on-camera persona has demanded he receive it all without so much as an upturned lip. He has only broken a few times in nearly two decades of this work, most notably when an older gas-station owner on Nathan for You told him he drinks his grandson\u2019s urine for vitality<\/a>. It\u2019s true that Fielder is technically Canadian, but he\u2019s an American citizen now, and if Australia\u2019s Sam Campbell can participate in the U.K. tourney, there\u2019s precedent for this. Every season of Last One Laughing needs a clear front-runner to set up the possibility of an upset (see: Richard Ayoade in the first season<\/a> of LOL UK). Who better than Fielder?<\/p>\n Before she was a Christmas witch<\/a> or a witch in the MCU, Aubrey Plaza was a deadpan queen<\/a> and trained improviser who would, we think, give Fielder a run for his money. While she can obviously deliver bangers while stone-faced, she\u2019s also able to harness big-character energy<\/a>, which could shock her fellow contestants into giving up a smirk. We have no idea what she would do for her joker, but we imagine it\u2019d channel the same sort of unsettling energy as David Mitchell singing a show tune<\/a> or Bob Mortimer putting on a wig<\/a>.<\/p>\n We need to amp the silly factor up a little. While Chris Fleming can do dry or sarcastic<\/a>, he\u2019s at his best when he\u2019s giving into the bit a little<\/a>. He\u2019s often a generous laugher whose ability to crack himself up<\/a> is half of the fun. Part of what makes Fleming such an undeniable comedic presence is the sheer amount of energy<\/a> he channels into a joke or performance. Fleming\u2019s force squished into a cramped space is a recipe for disaster (endorsement). Would he break? Would he lock in? He\u2019s also fearless in his willingness to go in on other comics, especially ones on the verge of breaking, which could make him a valuable offensive player despite his penchant for laughing.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever watched a podcast episode featuring Mandal<\/a>, you\u2019ll notice he has a way of incapacitating people with laughter. His fellow podcasters don\u2019t just laugh when he says something funny; their faces lock into a state of pre-laughter anticipation for entire episodes. It\u2019s not necessarily what he says or even how he says it. Mandal simply possesses the rare comedic gift of undeniability. He needs to be on this show, because he could quite literally eliminate one of his fellow contestants just by saying, \u201cAy, man.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s helpful on LOL to be able to lure people into a sense of safety before unleashing a bit at them, and Kumail Nanjiani would be particularly skilled at this. He\u2019s set to be on the upcoming season of Taskmaster<\/a>, so he is already familiar with the British panel-show world. His recent return to stand-up with his special Night Thoughts<\/a> is a reminder of just how good he is at making matter-of-fact explanations funny. But also, he\u2019s often seen laughing on podcasts<\/a>; he would probably struggle to keep a straight face in a way that would be very enjoyable to watch. It\u2019s easy to imagine him tearing up or just having a full screaming meltdown as he attempts to contain himself. He\u2019s also famously very buff now, which the other comedians could make a lot of jokes about, and that would be really fun.<\/p>\n When we think about some of the best deadpan comedians America has to offer, David Cross is up there, but in a slightly different font. He is not as dry as you expect someone working in this space to be and utilizes a voice that is actually full of emotions he\u2019s able to turn on a dime. As Arrested Development\u2019s Tobias F\u00fcnke<\/a>, he was full of gentle hope that often dipped into despair or panic. While he is able to deliver a perfectly flat punch line that gets you right in the gut, he can emotionally commit to a bit like no one else.<\/a> Well, maybe like Bob Odenkirk, but we can\u2019t put him in that room because he has a heart condition, famously.<\/p>\n Where were you when Hacks and Too Much star Meg Stalter screamed \u201cGet me outta here!\u201d<\/a> on Late Night? After telling Stephen Colbert a half-coherent anecdote about living in London<\/a> while shooting Too Much, the comedian exploded into a burst of rage that no one could have anticipated. Colbert, an elegant straight man if there ever was one, was so surprised by the turn of emotion that he had to stifle a giggle. Stalter\u2019s commitment to character (as seen at a number of awards shows this past winter<\/a>) makes her a truly unpredictable character akin to a Fielder or a Plaza. She\u2019s not deadpan \u2014 in fact, she\u2019s quite giggly \u2014 but she can really double down on a joke if the moment is right. Let\u2019s get her a crazy wig and kooky costume and have her run amok. Even if she descends into hysterics, it\u2019ll be that much funnier to watch her go.<\/p>\n Listen, we know: Vince Staples is not a \u201ccomedian,\u201d but it\u2019s not out of left field to call the musician a \u201ccomedic actor.\u201d He had two whole seasons of a Netflix show<\/a>! But this past winter, Staples did something previously almost unheard of: He got Ziwe<\/a>. While the iconic talk-show host and interviewer works overtime to try to get one over on her subjects, Staples ran circles around her, hardly ever cracking a smile. There\u2019s even more untapped comedic potential to Staples, some of which could emerge in a show where he\u2019s in a room with a handful of comedians for several hours. What would it be like to see him go up against Fielder? It is possible, however, that dropping Staples into a room full of comedians might just be a recipe to severely annoy him, but he could wind up being LOL\u2019s most powerful player yet.<\/p>\n A good LOL cast should feature people who aren\u2019t just generous laughers but whose laughter is infectious and distinctive. It makes the prospect of breaking them that much more tantalizing, and it\u2019s entertaining to watch the other contestants gang up on them whenever they sense an opportunity for this gratifying payoff. While Bert Kreischer, Stavros Halkias, and Caleb Hearon could all slot into this position respectably, we think Paul F. Tompkins would provide more entertainment value because there\u2019s no chance he\u2019d just sit there and play defense. Comedy Bang! Bang! listeners know he\u2019s fluent in pretty much every type of comedy game there is, so he could easily just flip a bit back onto his attackers and get them out instead. He\u2019d also look incredible in whatever immaculate suit he chose to wear to the taping.<\/p>\n We constantly hear about how SNL cast members are told not to break. What better way to put that training to the test? But more than that, Sarah Sherman<\/a> would be a perfect addition to the LOL lineup because she\u2019d bring a completely different type of comic energy to the competition with her gross-out antics and body horror. Comedians are so attuned to the conventional rhythms of joke structure that they don\u2019t typically laugh at the same things as audiences. It often takes something truly shocking to stir them out of their desensitization. Fielder might be impenetrable to most, but has he ever watched a woman chug an entire can of clam chowder<\/a>?<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n