Last One Laughing UK review – the funniest TV show of the year

Season two of this competition isn’t just enjoyably easy-going TV that leaves you helpless with laughter. It’s also a fascinating insight into comedy as an artform

It could easily have been a fluke. That such a simple, even lame-sounding format was responsible for three hours of the most transcendentally funny television of 2025 might well have been down to an alchemical accident. Spoiler: it wasn’t. Series two of the UK version of this Japanese reality-gameshow is very nearly as sidesplitting as the first.

The format is identical: 10 successful comedians spend six hours in a huge room trying not to laugh or smile. One lapse gets you a yellow card; another gets you ejected. Now you must commentate on the action in separate viewing quarters with the host, Jimmy Carr, and his sidekick Roisin Conaty (who somehow manages to make her ill-defined companion role not feel painfully awkward). Mostly, the comics just chat crap to each other in the hope of making somebody laugh, but there is also a steady stream of interventions. The majority will be called up at some stage to play their “joker”, a specially devised comedy set piece performed – largely – to silence. This tends to be an impressive showcase of their talent and completely excruciating to watch. Every now and then, Carr emerges to dish out conversational prompts and orchestrate head-to-head challenges. There are also a scattering of appearances from special guests, engineered – obviously – to turn those frowns upside down.

In the last series, all of these potentially cringeworthy features produced moments of comedy that still make me smirk. Joe Wilkinson’s deadpan lecture about the RNLI. Danny Dyer’s cameo as a geezer Harry Potter. The numerous face-offs between the show’s two standout stars, Richard Ayoade and Bob Mortimer (Richard on the pair’s pretend first date: “Would you invest in arms?” Bob: “My mother was in arms-dealing. She sold swords”).

Mortimer was victorious, and the champ returns for series two. Alongside him – in a triumph of diaristic synchronicity – are a fair few household names: David Mitchell, Mel Giedroyc, Romesh Ranganathan, Diane Morgan and Alan Carr. Then there are the younger comics: standups Amy Gledhill and Maisie Adam, plus actor Gbemisola Ikumelo (Black Ops). Although this is meant to be the British iteration – one of 30 worldwide – the rules have been bent to include Australian comedian Sam Campbell, who turns out to be a bit of a spanner in the works.

Invariably, the comic tension builds as the clock counts down. But even by episode two I can confidently crown this the funniest TV show of the year so far. We know, of course, that Mortimer is masterly at channelling a down-to-earth surrealism his peers are powerless to resist – and if you enjoyed his absurd songs from series one, you’re in for another treat. We also know from The Celebrity Traitors that Alan Carr is value for money and then some as a reality TV contestant (is this man our greatest national asset? Discuss). Less predictable is how well he bounces off Mitchell. Talking of surprises, Mitchell’s joker sees him wrongfoot an audience expecting something cerebral by putting on a mesmerising musical theatre performance – and possibly creating 2026’s most unlikely earworm in the process. (“It was really traditional,” is Campbell’s verdict.)

A large part of Last One Laughing’s appeal is that it provides light, frothy and ultimately inconsequential entertainment. Yet there’s something about seeing it done for the second time that reveals what rare insights it provides into comedy, as an artform and a social practice. When the comedians meet, they engage in the same stiff banter any group of acquaintances may resort to – something that makes their ability to wholeheartedly commit to the bit on stage (a nightmare for most of the viewing public) even more striking. Equally – as you may expect from a show that consists entirely of people desperately trying to get a laugh – Last One Laughing contains its fair share of flat-out unfunny material. So it’s also fascinating to see that even when their banter goes down badly, these pros never seem embarrassed or deterred.

Of course, the hope is that what happens in the room is so hilarious you don’t have the chance to mull over comedians’ psyches or comedic devices (between the set pieces, the pranks, the cameos, the bons mots of the post-show commentary and Jimmy Carr’s groan-inducing gags, every kind of comedy seems to be covered). It frequently is: this series leaves me helpless with laughter at least once an episode. That might sound like a low bar, but it’s an impressive feat. At a time when TV barely tries to tickle you, this show’s unabashed pursuit of actual mirth is not to be sniffed at.

• Last One Laughing UK is on Prime Video now