BURBANK, Calif. -- January 18, 2006 -- The Emmy-nominated series "Last Comic Standing" will return to NBC this summer in search of the funniest comedian in America, it was announced today by Craig Plestis, Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming and Development. In its first two seasons, the show garnered critical and popular acclaim as it traveled the country looking for the best stand-up comedians, and rewarded them with an exclusive talent deal with the network.

As with previous seasons, talent scouts will travel to major cities nationwide to see performances from thousands of aspiring and professional comedians. In addition through an online component, aspiring participants can submit their tape to NBC.com where online voters will determine one comedian to join those found on the nationwide search.

"'Last Comic Standing' will be an exciting addition to our summer schedule," said Plestis. "The show gives unprecedented exposure to talented comics and provides countless laughs to our viewers in the process."

"Last Comic Standing" joined the NBC schedule in the summer of 2003 and averaged a 3.7 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49 and 8.3 million viewers overall. The hot unscripted series improved its time period that summer by 32 percent versus NBC's 18-49 results of one year earlier. The second run of "Last Comic Standing" the following year averaged a 3.8/11 in 18-49 and 8.3 million viewers overall and was NBC's #1 series of the summer of 2004 in 18-49.

"Last Comic Standing" is a Peter Engel Production in association with NBC Universal Television Studio. Peter Engel is the executive producer.