@MIDNIGHT

So, if there was a show that was nothing but funny people sitting around telling jokes, would it be a good show for making us laugh, or a bad show for having no real creativity?  This is the dilemma of @midnight, the latest show from Comedy Central that jumps on a trend -- this time, the Internet.

Hosted by Chris Hardwick, @midnight is a gameshow with loose rules and no prize.  Each episode has three comedians and/or actors competing to "win the Internet" (meaning bragging rights as the funniest person online until the next show -- meaning no actual prize).  Competitors guess which of three online items are true (sometimes all are true) or most popular, write fake promotions, comment on videos, and create their own hashtags and bad ideas.  Contestants get points for correct answers (or just for making Hardwick laugh), and near the end the person with the fewest points is eliminated (bathed in a red light).  In the final competition, For the Win (FTW  -- read it backwards if you don't get the joke), the last two players have to write something about a topic.  Hardwick reads both answers, and whoever wrote the one that gets the most applause wins the Internet/

@midnight is both enjoyable and frustrating.  Not since Whose Line Is It Anyway? has there been a game show where the points and competition matter so little, considering there's no prize.  It's like a bunch of friends hanging out, making funny comments, and getting carried away with how funny they are.  (It also seems like the competitors get the topics and info beforehand, as there never seem to be any failed jokes.) Fortunately for the show, the comics are pretty funny, letting the goofy and bizarre jokes fly free and fast.  The show gets some celebrities to do readings, such as Walter Goggins reading a Craigslist ad for an unpaid human pinata, or Joe Manganiella -- who played a werewolf on True Blood -- reading an Amazon review for the three wolf moon t-shirt.  And Thomas Lennon's fake Buzzfeed suggestion "16 Squirrels Who Look Like Radiohead" led to that being created:

@midnight isn't innovative or creative, but it's a chance to listen to some comics making pretty good jokes at the expense of the Internet.  If you're still up when The Colbert Report ends, it's worth sticking around for (unless you're tired).

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch