The Next Best Thing (TV series)
The Next Best Thing is an American reality TV series competition of celebrity impersonators with a grand prize of $100,000. It was hosted by Michele Merkin. The judges were Jeffrey Ross, Elon Gold and Lisa Ann Walter; ultimately, the winner was chosen by viewer voting. The eight-episode series debuted May 30, 2007 on ABC and ended the same year.
| The Next Best Thing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Peter Engel Productions |
| Presented by | Michele Merkin |
| Judges | Jeffrey Ross Elon Gold Lisa Ann Walter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | New Wave Entertainment Peter Engel Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | May 30 – July 25, 2007 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Episodes
The premiere featured contestants impersonating (among others) Howard Stern, Jack Nicholson, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Superman, Jennifer Aniston, Janet Jackson, Bill Cosby, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Marilyn Monroe, Neil Diamond, Tony Soprano, David Letterman, Johnny Depp (as well as Captain Jack Sparrow), Jerry Lewis, Sean Connery, Gwen Stefani, Phil McGraw, Michael Jackson, Hank Williams Jr., Arthur (Fonzie) Fonzarelli, Marilyn Manson, Sonny Bono, Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, and Avril Lavigne.
Semi-finals
The judges narrowed down the contestants to 30 semi-finalists, 28 of whom were featured in fully shown performances over two episodes. The semi-finalists were:
- Chris America as Madonna
- Sandy Anderson as Dolly Parton
- Sebastian Anzaldo as Frank Sinatra
- David Born as Robin Williams
- Trent Carlini as Elvis Presley
- Erv Dahl as Rodney Dangerfield
- Donny Edwards as Elvis Presley
- Marcel Forestieri as Jay Leno
- Craig Gass as Al Pacino
- Roger Kabler as Robin Williams
- Anne Kissel as Roseanne Barr
- Suzanne LaRusch as Lucille Ball
- Buck McCoy as Tim McGraw
- Garry Moore as Little Richard
- John Morgan as George W. Bush
- Jim Nieb as George W. Bush
- Sharon Owens as Barbra Streisand
- Natalie Reid as Paris Hilton
- Pavel Sfera as Bono
- Stacey Whitton Summers as Shania Twain
- Brigitte Valdez as Celine Dion
- Cookie Watkins as Tina Turner
- Mike Wilson as Simon Cowell
- Mark Staycer as John Lennon
Finalists
Of the 30 semi-finalists, the judges chose the following 10 to be finalists:
- Sebastian Anzaldo
- Trent Carlini
- Donny Edwards
- Roger Kabler
- Suzanne LaRusch
- Garry Moore
- John Morgan
- Sharon Owens
- Natalie Reid
- Cookie Watkins
- Erv Dahl
Order of finish
American viewers voted, and ranked the finalists in the following order:
- Trent Carlini
- Sebastian Anzaldo
- Donny Edwards
- John Morgan
- Suzanne LaRusch
As the winner, Trent Carlini received $100,000.
Trivia
- The ten finalists of season 1 included two Elvis Presley impersonators; to reduce confusion, they were named "Blue Suede Elvis" (Donny Edwards) and "Heartbreak Elvis" (Trent Carlini), after the songs "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Heartbreak Hotel."
- Little Richard appeared as a "surprise celebrity guest" in the last episode of season 1 (#108).