LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines

LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines is a Philippine comedy reality competition show based on Documental, a format created by Japanese comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto. Hosted by comedian, presenter, and actor Vice Ganda, it aired on Prime Video on July 4, 2024.

Chad Kinis was proclaimed the winner of the first season on July 18, 2024.

Development
On May 30, 2024, it was announced via Prime Video Philippines' social media accounts that a Philippine version of Documental (known as Last One Laughing in other countries) is in the works, and will premiere on July 4 of the same year. On June 19 and 26, 2024, Vice, the competing celebrities, and Prime Video Philippines released the series' trailer and teasers on their respective social media accounts.

Format
Ten comedians stay in a living-room style studio with hidden cameras for a few hours (usually six). During this time, they must try to make their opponents laugh in any way and by any means, while not reacting at their opponents’ attempts to make them break. At the first laugh, the competitor is cautioned (yellow carded), while a second eliminates the player from the game (red carded). However, large infractions may be given an automatic red card. Eliminated players join the host in the observation room, but may return as an external challenger to the remaining contestants. The comedians can also be eliminated if they aren't active enough. The only way to communicate with the outside is a telephone controlled by the host.

The last remaining comedian standing is set to receive a trophy, and a cash prize of one million pesos (₱1,000,000).

Contestants
The ten contestants were revealed on June 17, 2024.


 * Chad Kinis — Known for his appearance on the It's Showtime segment Miss Q&A season 2 (2019), a beauty pageant competition for queer people. His full name was "Chad Kinis Lustre-Reid" during the competition, finishing as second runner-up, losing to Czedy Rodriguez and winner Mitch Montecarlo Suansane. His appearance on the segment led to his popularity, as well as being part of the group "Beks Battalion" with MC Muah Calaquian and Lassy Marquez. He was also a co-host of 1000 Heartbeats: Pintig Pinoy, the Philippine version of 1000 Heartbeats which was hosted by Xian Lim. He was declared the winner of the competition on Episode 6, defeating runner-up Jerald Napoles and eight other contestants.
 * Empoy Marquez — Most known for playing the male lead in Kita Kita (2017) alongside Alessandra de Rossi. He was first known as the winner of the Mr. Suave look-alike contest on Magandang Tanghali Bayan, he was awarded a minor role in the comedy film Mr. Suave (2003). He also appeared on TV shows such as TV5's Lokomoko (2008–2013) and Tropa Mo Ko Unli (2013–2015), Since I Found You (2018), and co-starred in the film Kusina Kings (2018). He received both a yellow and a red card and was the first to be eliminated on Episode 5.
 * Jayson Gainza — First known as the runner-up of the first season of the reality show Pinoy Big Brother in 2005. He is also widely known as the impersonator of talk show host Boy Abunda in Banana Split, and later became a cast member of Sunday 'Kada until its hiatus on 2021. He would later transfer to GMA Network where he first appeared in the sitcom 'Happy ToGetHer' starred by John Lloyd Cruz. He is currently the main host of the variety show TiktoClock alongside Kim Atienza and Pokwang. He received a yellow card on Episode 1 alongside Kim and Negi and was eliminated as the second person in Episode 2. He returned as an external challenger in Episodes 5 and 6.
 * Jerald Napoles — Known for his role as Tolits in the musical stage play Rak of Aegis alongside her partner Kim Molina. He was also a cast member of the variety show Sunday PinaSaya on GMA Network. He also appeared on Comedy Island Philippines alongside Rufa Mae Quinto, and is currently the main host of Barangay Singko Panalo on TV5. He finished runner-up for the season.
 * Kim Molina — Known for portraying Aileen in the long-running Filipino stage musical Rak of Aegis alongside her partner Napoles, and in the series Kadenang Ginto, and most known as Elsa in the film #Jowable (2019). She received both a yellow and a red card and was the third person eliminated in Episode 2. She returned as an external challenger in Episode 6.
 * Negi — First appeared and known as Vice Ganda's sidekick in Gandang Gabi, Vice! and also appeared on various TV shows as Minute to Win It and movies such as Super Parental Guardians (2016), Finally Found Someone (2017), and Wander Bra (2018). He received a yellow card on Episode 1, along with Kim and Jayson, and was the first person eliminated on Episode 2. He then returned as an external challenger in Episode 4.
 * Pepe Herrera — Also known for his role as Tolits in the musical stage play Rak of Aegis (which was also portrayed by Napoles) and appeared on numerous TV series and films, most recently in Rewind (2023) starring Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, I Am Not Big Bird (2024) starring Enrique Gil, and starred in the Philippine adaptation of My Sassy Girl (2024) alongside Toni Gonzaga. He was eliminated, along with Victor Anastacio, in Episode 5 for failing to make someone laugh in 45 minutes, and was the episode's third elimination, following Marquez.
 * Rufa Mae Quinto — Dubbed as the "Comedy Princess" and a notable figure in Philippine pop culture, Rufa is known for her camp and signature comedic performances in film and television, awarding her as a ten-time Best Comedy Actress winner at the Star Awards for Television, a Golden Screen Award and "Best Supporting Actress" at the PMPC Star Awards for Movies. She received a yellow card on Episode 3 and was the first person eliminated on Episode 4.
 * Tuesday Vargas — Known for her roles in Gulong ng Palad and Bituing Walang Ningning and had her first lead roles in Hiram na Mukha (2007), and Kaputol ng Isang Awit (2008), Tuesday has starred in numerous TV shows and films, but she gained the most recognition in the film Here Comes the Bride (2010). She is currently a freelance artist. She received both a yellow and red card and was the second contestant eliminated on Episode 4.
 * Victor Anastacio — Known for his appearance on The Gift starring Alden Richards, Heartful Café starring Julie Anne San Jose and David Licauco, and in the films Elise (2015) and Dito At Doon (2021). He received several warnings for failing to make anyone laugh in the early episodes. On Episode 5, he received both a yellow and a red card and was eliminated along with Pepe Herrera for failing to make someone laugh within 45 minutes.

Episodes
Two episodes were released on the premiere date, with two new episodes releasing every week. The season contains six episodes.

Lights, Camera, LOL!
In a variation of the Joker challenge found in international versions, Vice would pull a lever to determine which comedian would perform on stage, while the other comedians would have to watch. It is up to the comedians to decide how long their performance will last.

The ResBeks
On Episode 3, Vice noticed that all of the participating comedians were tired of making themselves laugh, so he invited Divine Tetay and Petite as "resbeks" with the same goal: to make the other contestants laugh. Divine Tetay later returned as an external challenger again on Episode 6.

Elimination history
W The competitor wins the game

S The competitor has not undergone any action and is still safe

A The competitor is warned but continues the game

E The competitor is expelled and exits the game

E The competitor is warned and expelled in the same episode


 * Notes
 * Episode 1
 * Negi received a yellow card in the first 15 minutes after being caught smiling at Empoy during their beatbox freestyle challenge.
 * Jason received a yellow card for smiling during his beatbox freestyle challenge.
 * Rufa Mae was the first to perform in the Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge.
 * At the near end of the episode, the alarm went off because Vice had caught someone laughing after Rufa's Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge. However, it was not until the next episode that it was revealed to be Kim. She was then given a yellow card in the second episode, indicating that she was safe before the first episode ended.


 * Episode 2
 * Kim received a yellow card after laughing at Rufa Mae's Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge. However, it was known from the first episode, but the person who laughed was not revealed until this episode.
 * The "English-only mode" challenge was activated in this episode, requiring all participating comedians to speak in English.
 * Negi received a red card during Rufa Mae's Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge and was eliminated.
 * Jayson got a red card for laughing at his own joke (drinking coffee from an arinola, or chamber pot), which was Tuesday's idea.
 * Kim received a red card for laughing at Pepe's joke and was eliminated.
 * Chad and Tuesday violated the house rules, with Chad breaking the rule of covering his face with props and Tuesday breaking the rule of hiding behind furniture or anything that could cover her face by hiding beside a container. Vice gave them both a warning (but not a yellow card).


 * Episode 3
 * Rufa received a yellow card after being caught laughing at her own fruit joke.
 * Divine Tetay and Petite entered as resbeks (a portmanteau of the words resbak "revenge" and bakla meaning "gay"). They were given the same task of making the competitors laugh, but they could do so freely. They were also allowed to interact with the contestants, and Vice gave them instructions over the public address system. They exited during the same episode, and no one laughed.
 * Jerald was the second to perform in the Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge.
 * At the end of the episode, Vice sounded the alarm once more, this time handing out yellow and red cards to more than one then-unknown contestant who would later be revealed in the next episode.


 * Episode 4
 * Tuesday received a yellow card after she was caught smiling at Empoy before Jerald's "Lights, Camera, LOL!" challenge.
 * Rufa received a red card for laughing at her own joke while chatting about Chad's improvised country-naming performance.
 * Tuesday received a red card during the same episode while performing as a "taong-grasa" or homeless beggar, which Chad, Empoy, and Pepe also joined.
 * Vice issued a warning to Jerald, Empoy, and Victor because they had failed to make anyone laugh in recent episodes. They were given 30 minutes to make someone laugh; otherwise, they would receive a yellow card.
 * Negi returned as an external challenger to account the uneven number of pairs required for the "Laglag Pera" challenge.
 * (x4) At the end of the episode, Vice handed out four yellow cards to four unknown contestants, who will be revealed in the next episode.


 * Episode 5
 * (x4) At the start of the episode, the following were the reasons why the four yellow cards were given to four contestants:
 * The first yellow card was given to Empoy for laughing at Jerald.
 * The second yellow card was given to Pepe for laughing at Negi's actions during the "Laglag Pera" challenge.
 * The third yellow card was given to Victor for failing to make someone laugh within the past 30 minutes.
 * The fourth card was not distributed to anyone. Vice gave it to Chad as a joke.
 * Victor was the third to perform in the Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge.
 * Chad was the fourth to perform in the Lights, Camera, LOL! challenge.
 * Jayson returned as an external challenger, portraying a parody of Fast Talk with Boy Abunda in a double role as "Boy Abundat" and a fictional version of himself.
 * Victor received a final warning for failing to make anyone laugh in the last 30 minutes. However, he was given an extra 15 minutes to make Chad, Jerald, or Pepe laugh. Due to the limited time available, it was given to the three individuals mentioned. If they fail to do so, they will receive a yellow card.
 * Pepe and Victor received a red card for failing to make anyone laugh in the final 15 minutes allotted by Vice. This put Chad and Jerald in the final two and the two then received a yellow card.


 * Episode 6
 * To challenge the final two, the eliminated contestants and the ResBek, Divine Tetay, returned as external challengers in this episode.
 * Following his elimination, Pepe was given the option of staying inside the house as an external challenger to the final two.
 * Divine Tetay, Negi, and Jayson returned as external challengers to face the final two. Chad, Jayson (as Boy Abundat), Jerald, and Negi played Game Ka Na Ba? (as "Gay Ka Na Ba?"), with Divine Tetay impersonating host Kris Aquino.
 * Kim returned as an external challenger as a "debutant".
 * After Pepe, Divine Tetay, Negi, Jayson, and Kim appeared as external challengers, Vice challenged Chad and Jerald to an extreme game of rock paper scissors.
 * Vice then challenged the two to a game of "Ihip Hooray" (a parody of Wowowee's Hep Hep Hooray), in which they had to blow on each other's ears to laugh.
 * The final two played a game called "Movie Lines with Water" in which they had to read famous movie lines while their mouths were full of water.
 * The final game played by the final two was "I-bulong sa Ilong", in which they had to mix sauces and closely speak to the other person so that they could smell their concoction. This was the final criterion for determining the winner of the competition.
 * No one from the final two laughed at the final game. Instead, the winner was determined by how many contestants the final two had laughed at throughout the competition. Chad Kinis won Last One Laughing Philippines by a score of 2 to 1, with Jerald Napoles coming in second place. Chad had made Rufa Mae and Empoy laugh, whereas Jerald only made Empoy laugh about the competition.

Reception
Following its premiere on July 4, 2024, LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines became Prime Video's number one reality competition show and trended across various social media networks. The series also gained popularity online after funny clips from the show were shared on Facebook.