ralphie may

Stand up comedians Lavell Crawford and Ralphie May might be starring in an 'Odd Couple' situation comedy for Comedy Central, but the two have more in common than Oscar Madison and Felix Unger ever did.

They both worked as cooks in their pre-stand-up career: Ralphie as a chef in several four star restaurants and Lavell as a short-order cook. Both were born and raised and live in the South: Ralphie is from Chattanooga, Tenn. and lives in Nashville and Lavell lives in his native homeland of St. Louis, Mo. And, yes, there is that one painfully obvious similarity. They're also two successful, edgy and hilarious comedians who have worked in an untold number of clubs and theaters and competed on NBC's 'Last Comic Standing.'

The two already sound like the perfect sitcom pair and they don't even have a script yet for their multi-camera Comedy Central sitcom 'Brothers from Another Mother.' Check out our interview with Crawford and May about how their sitcom is coming along, why they chose to do a show with a live studio audience and how they hope to help TV comedies grow a pair.

Maybe it's because NBC needs programming, especially during the summer. Maybe it's because the network needed a companion to 'America's Got Talent.' But it does seem like 'Last Comic Standing' has become the 'According to Jim' of reality shows, doesn't it? The show just doesn't die, no matter how much NBC and its producers have tried to kill it.

The folks who brought us the genius idea of Jay Leno at 10PM has decided to resurrect 'Last Comic,' which they canned in 2008, for a summer run, according to Joe Adalian at The Wrap. Craig Robinson of 'The Office' and the forthcoming comedy flick 'Hot Tub Time Machine' has been tabbed to host.

At least the new host gives me hope for this new version. Robinson has a great comic presence, whether he's intimidating Michael Scott as warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin, or just doing his stand-up at a local club. He'll be funnier than Bill Bellamy and more confident than Anthony Clark, two of the show's previous hosts (Jay Mohr was the original host... and quite good).