Comicstaan is an Indian stand-up comedy competition television series created by Only Much Louder for Amazon Prime Video.[1] The show brings together budding Indian comedians to find the next big name in stand-up comedy.
On 6 August 2018, Comicstaan was renewed for a second season.[5] Comedian Zakir Khan was reported to be included in the lineup of judges and mentors for Season 2 with Sapan Verma and Naveen Richard not expected to return.[5] Additionally, Tanmay Bhat was dropped from Season 2 on 14 November 2018, a month after he was ousted from All India Bakchod due to allegations of inaction against sexual harassment.[6] Season 2 premiered on 12 July 2019 with the addition of judges Neeti Palta and Sumukhi Suresh (who co-hosted Season 1) as judges and mentors and Urooj Ashfaq joining as co-host.[7]
The winner of Season 1 was Nishant Suri. Season 2 had combined winners namely Samay Raina and Aakash Gupta. The winner of Season 3 is Aashish Solanki with Gurleen Pannu coming as runner-up.
In September and October 2017, auditions for Season 1 took place in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore in the form of open mics.[8][9] No contestants were chosen on the spot; videos of their performances were viewed by all judges and hosts together before they decided on the best 10.
During the course of the shows, the 10 contestants went through 7 rounds of performances in order to secure a spot in the grand finale. Each round, the contestants performed in a different genre of comedy and, unlike most competition television series, there were no eliminations till the last round.[10] Comedic genres the contestants performed in included anecdotal, topical, observational, improv, sketch, comedy of terrors, and alternative comedy.[10]
Before each round, the contestants were mentored in each genre by one of the judges, who is touted as the expert of that specific type of comedy.[10] The contestants had a week to prepare fresh material and practice before performing that set live in front of an audience and the judges. After their performance, each contestant was given a score, between 1 and 10, by both the audience and all the judges (except for the expert for that round). Each contestant was given feedback by the judges before revealing their score. Two separate scores were revealed to each contestant – an average of the audience's score and an average of the judges'. The mean of both scores became the final score of the round for each contestant. The finals scores were aggregated each round and, at the end of the 7th round, 5 contestants receiving the best aggregate scores were given places in the finale.
For round 4 (improv), the 10 contestants were separated into 2 groups of 5. Each team was scored and their team's score also became the contestant's individual score. For round 5 (sketch), the contestants were paired up and there were 5 performances. Similarly to round 4, each pair was scored, which then became both contestants' individual scores. Aggregates of the points received by all performers each round were given to the mentor of that week. The best mentor was revealed in the grand finale and Naveen Richard came first and Kaneez Surka and Kenny Sebastian were first and second runners-up, respectively.
For the grand finale, the top 5 contestants performed in the Royal Opera House, Mumbai on 20 December 2017.[11] They were allowed to perform in any of the 7 forms of comedy they were mentored in, including a combination of them. They were scored in a similar process as the previous rounds however, the scores were not aggregated with their previous scores. At the end, Nishant Suri, the contestant with the highest score, won the competition along with prize money of ₹10,00,000.[4]
Selection process and format Season 2
On 10 October 20, auditions for Season 2 took place. This year the top 22 applicants auditioned for the judges in Mumbai itself on the main Comicstaan set. Applicants had to submit an application to the Comicstaan website and then the shortlisted few (around 100 people) met with producers and submitted themselves for vigorous background checks. The top few were invited to Mumbai to audition for the judges. The judges debated and scored the top 22 and based on an 8-hour gruelling debate session, they select the top 10 contestants.
During the shows, the 10 contestants went through 7 rounds of performances to secure a spot in the grand finale. Each round, the contestants performed in a different genre of comedy and, unlike most competition television series, there were no eliminations till the last round. Comedic genres the contestants performed in included anecdotal, topical, observational, improv, sketch, comedy of terrors, and alternative comedy.
Before each round, the contestants were mentored in each genre by one of the judges, who is touted as the expert of that specific type of comedy. The contestants had a week to prepare fresh material and practice before performing that set live in front of an audience and the judges. After their performance, each contestant was given a score between 1 and 10, by both the audience and all the judges (except for the expert for that round). Each contestant was given feedback by the judges before revealing their score. Two separate scores were revealed to each contestant – an average of the audience's score and an average of the judges'. The mean of both scores became the final score of the round for each contestant. The final scores were aggregated each round and at the end of the 7th round, 5 contestants receiving the best aggregate scores were given places in the finale.
For the grand finale, the top 5 contestants perform in any of the 7 forms of comedy they were mentored in, including a combination of them. They are scored in a similar process however, the scores were not aggregated with their previous scores. In the end, the highest scorer wins the competition along with prize money of ₹10,00,000.
Aman Jotwani (from Mumbai, Maharashtra) – 2nd runner-up
Summary
Season 1
Episode –
1 (Auditions)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2–8 (Total Score)
9 (Grand Finale)
Genre
none
Anecdotal
Topical
Observational
Improvisational
Sketch
Terrors
Alternative
none
Mentor
Biswa
Tanmay
Sapan
Kaneez
Naveen
Kanan
Kenny
Mentor Score
70.8
79
78
80
83.6
75.2
79.8
Nishant
6.6
7
7.5
8.6
8.2 (8.6+8.8+7.3=24.7)
9.4 (Paired with Shashwat)
7
9.8*
56.9
9.2
Winner
Rahul
7.5
6.5
8
8.5
7.4+1=8.4 (6.2+7.7+8.2=22.1)
9.2 (Paired with Prashashti)
9
8.8*
58.2
8.4
Runner-up
Prashashti
8.3
7.8
7.4
6.5
8.2+1=9.2 (8.6+8.8+7.3=24.7)
9.2 (Paired with Rahul)
8.4
9.5*
57.5
7.9
2nd Runner-up
Saurav
7.7
7
9
8.2
7.4 (6.2+7.7+8.2=22.1)
7.2 (Paired with Rueben)
7.8
9*
55.2
7.8
4th place
Shankar
9.1
7.8
7.4
8.9
8.2 (8.6+8.8+7.3=24.7)
8 (Paired with Arnav)
8.4
6.5*
54.7
7.6
5th place
Shashwat
8.3
6.6
8
8.5
8.2 (8.6+8.8+7.3=24.7)
9.4 (Paired with Nishant)
7.2
7*
54.6
Eliminated
Aishwarya
6.4
7.2
7.6
7.6
7.4 (6.2+7.7+8.2=22.1)
8 (Paired with Sejal)
7
10*
54.2
Eliminated
Rueben
5.9
7.3
8.4
6.4
8.2 (8.6+8.8+7.3=24.7)
7.2 (Paired with Saurav)
7.8
8.7*
53.5
Eliminated
Sejal
9.4
7.6
8
8.6
7.4 (6.2+7.7+8.2=22.1)
8 (Paired with Aishwarya)
6.2
7.2*
52.6
Eliminated
Arnav
5.3
6
7.7
6.2
7.4 (6.2+7.7+8.2=22.1)
8 (Paired with Shankar)
6.4
7.5*
49
Eliminated
Eliminated/ Final Result
none
Arnav
Shankar
Sejal
Saurav
Rueben
Prashashti
Aishwarya
Rahul
Shashwat
Nishant
Mentor Winners
none
Kenny
Kaneez
Naveen
Team Bananas
Team Ek Sithaphal
Red numbers Lowest Score
Green numbers Highest Score
Note (*): This episode score is excluding the Audience's Average Score and only Judges' Average Score.
Eliminated
Winner
Runner-Up
2nd Runner-Up
Season 2
Episode –
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1–7 (Total Score)
8 (Grand Finale)
Genre
Observational
Anecdotal
Improv
Topical
Sketch
Terrors
Alternative
none
Mentor
Kanan
Zakir
Kaneez
Neeti
Sumukhi
Biswa
Kenny
Mentor Score
79.1
78.7
80.5
81.1
77.2
78.4
84.5
Aakash
9.5
8.6
7.8 (7.2+8.1+8.1=23.4)
9.6
7.9 (Paired with Devanshi)
9.5
8.8*
60.9
9.1
Winner
Samay
8.9
9.4
8.3 (7.7+8.4+8.9=25)
7.7
6.6 (Paired with Joel)
8.2
8.7*
57.6
9.1
Winner
Raunaq
8.6
8
8.3 (7.7+8.4+8.9=25)
8.9
8.4 (Paired with Ramya)
8.9
8.3*
59.7
8.1
3rd place
Sumit
7.8
7.4
8.3 (7.7+8.4+8.9=25)
8.9
9.2 (Paired with Rohan)
6.3
8.5*
56.3
8
4th place
Supriya
8.1
7.6
7.8 (7.2+8.1+8.1=23.4)
8
6.5 (Paired with Shreeja)
9
9.8*
56.5
6.5
5th place
Rohan
7.6
6.5
8.3 (7.7+8.4+8.9=25)
8.2
9.2 (Paired with Sumit)
7
8.8*
55.6
Eliminated
Ramya
7.1
8.5
7.8 (7.2+8.1+8.1=23.4)
7.4
8.4 (Paired with Raunaq)
7.2
7.3*
53.7
Eliminated
Joel
7
8.7
7.8 (7.2+8.1+8.1=23.4)
8.5
6.6 (Paired with Samay)
7.3
7.3*
53.2
Eliminated
Devanshi
5.9
7.4
8.3 (7.7+8.4+8.9=25)
6.7
7.9 (Paired with Aakash)
6.6
9.7*
52.5
Eliminated
Shreeja
8.6
6.6
7.8 (7.2+8.1+8.1=23.4)
7.2
6.5 (Paired with Supriya)
8.4
7.3*
52.4
Eliminated
Eliminated/ Final Result
none
Shreeja
Supriya
Devanshi
Sumit
Joel
Raunaq
Ramya
Aakash
Rohan
Samay
Most Unexceptional Mentor
none
Kenny
Team Kadak Khopdis (English Translation: Hard Headed)
Team Lazy Lakadbagghey (English Translation: Lazy Hyenas)
Red numbers Lowest Score
Green numbers Highest Score
Note (*): This episode score is excluding the Audience's Average Score and only Judges' Average Score.
Eliminated
Winner
3rd Place
4th Place
Season 3
Episode –
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1–7 (Total Score)
8 (Grand Finale)
Genre
Anecdotal
Topical
Improv
Sketch
Roast
Observational
Alternative
none
Mentor
Rahul Subramanian
Sapan Verma
Aadar Malik
Anu Menon
Rohan Joshi
Prashathi Singh
Kanan Gill
Mentor's choice
Aman
Shamik
Shreya
Shreya
Adesh
Aman
Shreya
Aashish
8.6
8.4
8 (8+7.9+8.1=24)
9 (Paired with Aman)
9.2
8.4
8.3*
60.1
(Mentors: 10 Audience: 8.9) 9.6-0.5=9.1
Winner
Gurleen
8.5
9
7.9 (6.9+8.1+8.8=23.8)
9.5 (Paired with Shreya)
9.7
9.7
8.5*
62.6
(Audience: 8.1 Mentors: 9.3) 8.8
Runner-up
Aman
8.1-0.5=7.6+0.5=8.1
7.5
7.9 (6.9+8.1+8.8=23.8)
9 (Paired with Aashish)
8.8
8.9+0.5=9.4
8.8*
59.1
(Audience: 8.1) 8.5
3rd place
Shreya
6.9-0.5=6.4
8.3
8+0.5=8.5 (8+7.9+8.1=24)
9.5+0.5=10 (Paired with Gurleen)
7.2
8.6
9.5*+0.5=10
58.9
(Mentors: 8.5) 7.6
4th place
Adesh
8.1
7.8
8 (8+7.9+8.1=24)
7.7 (Paired with Natiq)
8.5+0.5=9
8.2
10*
58.7
Eliminated
Shamik
8.6
7.7+0.5=8.2
7.9 (6.9+8.1+8.8=23.8)
7 (Paired with Pavitra)
9.2
8.3
8.3*
57.5
Eliminated
Pavitra
8.3
8.6
7.9 (6.9+8.1+8.8=23.8)
7 (Paired with Shamik)
8.3
8.8
8.3*
57.2
Eliminated
Natiq
8.5-0.5=8
6.6
8 (8+7.9+8.1=24)
7.7 (Paired with Adesh)
8.4
6.9
8*
53.6
Eliminated
Comedians went Overtime
Aman Natiq Shreya
none
Aashish Shreya
Eliminated/ Final Result
none
Natiq
Shreya
Pavitra
Aman
Shamik
Gurleen
Adesh
Aashish
Team Lallupops
Team Bubblugums
Red numbers Lowest Score
Green numbers Highest Score
Maroon numbers Over-time Minus Score
Purple numbers Mentor's choice to give +0.5 Score
Note (*): This episode score is excluding the Audience's Average Score and only Judges' Average Score.
Eliminated
Winner
Runner-Up
3rd Place
Comicstaan Semma Comedy Pa (Tamil)
Selection process and format
After two spectacular seasons in Hindi, Comicstaan has expanded in Tamil Language. In 2019, auditions took place, applicants had to submit an application to the comicstaan website and then the shortlisted few met with producers and submitted themselves for vigorous background checks. Then top 6 contestants were selected.
During the shows, the 6 contestants went through 7 rounds of performances to secure a spot in the grand finale. Each round, the contestants performed in a different genre of comedy and, unlike most competition television series, there were no eliminations till the last round. Comedic genres the contestants performed in included anecdotal, topical, observational, sketch, comedy of terror and character work.
Before each round, the contestants were mentored in each genre by one of the judges, who is touted as the expert of that specific type of comedy. The contestants had a week to prepare fresh material and practice before performing that set live in front of an audience and the judges. After their performance, each contestant was given a score between 1 and 10, by both the audience and all the judges (except for the expert for that round). Each contestant was given feedback by the judges before revealing their score. Two separate scores were revealed to each contestant – an average of the audience's score and an average of the judges'. The mean of both scores became the final score of the round for each contestant. The final scores were aggregated each round and at the end of the 7th round, 3 contestants receiving the best aggregate scores were given places in the finale.
For the grand finale, the top 3 contestants perform in any of the 7 forms of comedy they were mentored in, including a combination of them. They are scored in a similar process however, the scores were not aggregated with their previous scores. In the end, the highest scorer wins the competition along with prize money of ₹10,00,000.