Review: 'Comicstaan Season 3' gets better with format, representation & a few jokes as well

Comicstaan Season 3

It is fascinating to imagine how much comedy as a genre has grown exponentially in the past few years. Thousands and more trying their hand at stand-up comedy and two seasons of Comicstaan later, here we are - rolling with the third season of the talent reality show of finding India's next big stand-up comedian.

Having had the chance to see Comicstaan Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video a few episodes, here's what I thought about it-

Retaining The Essence

One of the biggest mistakes that successful reality shows make more often than not is fidgeting with the format or scale in an effort to make if 'bigger and better'. Throughout the three seasons of the show so far, the makers haven't tried too hard to make unnecessary changes which is a good call indeed. To be watching Season 3, you want to feel that it is familiar and not disconnect. That definitely happens.

Some Good Calls, Some Questionable

The show has been constant in making changes to its core panel of judges, mentors and hosts and rightly so. This season, too witnesses several new faces but not in the form of judges. Kaneez Surka not being a part of the panel this year is a good call according to me and having new faces like Rahul Subramanian, Aadar Malik and Rohan Joshi as mentors is a also a good move. However, not having more female comedians as mentors seemed perplexing and while Kusha Kapila is absolutely fantastic as the new host, I also missed Urooj Ashfaq.

Smart Format Changes

The part that I loved the most is the change in format of judges and mentors. Unlike the last two seasons, the core judging panel doesn't mentor the contestants which makes it a better and more fair game. This also enabled more known faces of comedy to come in and mentor the talents. Quite a refreshing move that works in favor of the show and also leads the viewers to enjoy their old favourites while looking at the new ones.

Continued Problems

The one problem that bothered me the most in Season 2 continues with Season 3. Undoubtedly, comedy is an art form that is more subjective that any other but even then some comments made by the judges on the respective contestant might leave you perplexed and thinking, 'are they watching the same set that we are?' At times, the editing of these segments is also pretty haphazard leading this problem to sustain even further. It becomes all the more prevalent to see the vast differences between the judges' score and the audience's scoring.

Better Representation & No Standout

A huge problem with both Season 1 and Season 2 was that right away, watching a couple of episodes, there was always one or two people that stood out better than others. It began seeming an uphill task for others even though some of them improved immensely.

That problem doesn't sustain in Season 3. Even after three or four episodes in, there is no visible standout contestant that seems to be racing away. You might develop your favourite by then, sure, but no one manages to be so much of a standout than the other, which is a good thing considering it is a competition.

And the biggest positive that the makers seem to have deliberately brought in, is better representation. There are a lot of more female contestants than both the previous two seasons and that is indeed amazing. In fact, one of the contestants even has a speech impediment which obviously shouldn't be a factor of concern to his talent, and it isn't.

The Verdict

Comicstaan Season 3 continues to be as entertaining and fun as the first two seasons. It doesn't break ground and impress to new levels but is still great comfort viewing for the ones who love stand-up comedy.

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)