From Thursday 9 October, all 6 episodes of what we are pretty sure is only the first of numerous editions of Roast in Peace, an Italian comedy show hosted by Michela Giraud in which four famous people are targeted by a platoon of comedians, are available on Prime Video.

To find out more about the functioning and participants of this new show, which we saw in preview, here is our review of Roast in Peace. At the bottom, the official trailer.

How Roast in Peace works

First of all, it must be explained that the title of the program is a play on words in which the English funeral formula “rest in peace”, i.e. “may he rest in peace”, is modified with reference to the form of comedy called “roast”, in which the victim, usually a celebrity but also a person celebrating an anniversary or celebration, is made fun of, “roasted” to translate it literally, with merciless jokes said by those who know him.

In this case the development of the show hosted by Michela Giraud includes the fortunately fake funeral of four names known to the Italian public (in order of appearance Selvaggia Lucarelli, Elettra Lamborghini, Roberto Saviano and Francesco Totti), whose temporary passing is commemorated by comedians who are almost always irreverent (let’s say that Totti was treated better than the others, perhaps also because the show was recorded in Rome, since understands in mid-January 2025).

The comedians called to recite their biting elegies are, in alphabetical order:

– Beatrice Arnera: Alexandrian actress and singer launched by the Romolo+Giuly series, also active on social media with perhaps her ex-partner Andrea Pisani, third in the last LOL 5;

– ⁠Edoardo Ferrario, well-known Roman comic author and stand up comedian, who has been participating in Gialappashow since 2023 and who we have already seen on Prime in Prova Prova Sa sa, LOL 4 and in several comedy series);

– ⁠Corrado Nuzzo and Maria Di Biase, historic comic duo and couple in life, who also started with Gialappa’s twenty years ago, also seen at Prova Prova Sa sa;

– ⁠Stefano Rapone, comedian and author (with a participation in the Premio Strega, he was keen to remind us) also Roman, who after starting to do stand up comedy in English in Japan and other countries returned to Italy where he worked with Gialappa’s, Cattelan and others, taking part in various Prime Video productions including Il Baracchino and Pesci Piccoli);

– ⁠Eleazaro Rossi, stand-up comedian not from Rome but from Romagna, comic face of Le Iene and, if we are not mistaken, his first participation in a Prime Video show.

Once the introductions have been made, Roast in Peace works like this: one at a time, the VIPs stand behind a frame of flowers and almost always listen in silence to the monologues of the comedians who, from time to time, take their places in front of the podium to celebrate the imaginary funeral of the unfortunate VIP.

After each funeral, the public gives its offering to the comedian considered to be the best and a ranking is drawn up which in the end can be overturned by the VIPs, who, in addition to having an opportunity to respond to the nastiness suffered with their mockery towards the comedians, can also penalize the ruthless officiant deemed too bad.

In total the show is made up of six episodes: one each for the four VIPs, one in which Michela Giraud herself undergoes the ritual roast and a final episode with best of and unpublished scenes, including sketches by Gu. A rather simple but highly effective formula.

How Roast in Peace makes you laugh

Once the introductions have been made and the gameplay of the game has been explained, the most important question is: is Roast in Peace funny? And the answer is: yes, a lot.

On Prime Video, in our opinion, we haven’t laughed so much since the first, unforgettable LOL: whoever laughs is out. Indeed, if you like bad jokes as they are for us, perhaps RIP is even more laughable than that lol in which Giraud herself and her “crazy little prick” participated.

Jokes that are certainly less cruel than those that any social media hater would make, of course, because they are written and pronounced with a minimum of respect. But how funny is it to see Totti and Saviano, Lucarelli and Lamborghini biting their lips and masking disappointment while a really well-assorted cast of comedians takes digs at them…

Then who knows, maybe in the long run Roast in Peace will also suffer from the same problems as LOL, starting from the difficulty of bringing together high-level executioners and sacrificial victims (like Totti it is perhaps impossible), but for now don’t think about it and enjoy Roast in Peace.

Rating: 8.9