Madhur Virli’s New Show ‘Next Up’ Explained: Is Madhur Model Finally Over?

Our favorite comic and fellow Seedhe Maut enthusiast, Madhur Virli, has officially premiered his second semi-reality show called Next Up, which follows in the footsteps of the massively successful Madhur Model.

Based loosely on Madhur’s first venture with a panelist show, which itself was based on Kill Tony, a famous show in the west, Next Up’s concept is based around allowing up-and-coming comics to come on stage and to try and perform for 3 minutes (or more). They have to try and reach the mark before they are stopped by a jury of 4 people picked from the audience, or Madhur himself, who holds the veto power on the panel.

Madhur Virli’s Next Up: What Is the Concept, and More Importantly, the Prize

In contrast to the Madhur Model, which features a maximum of 3 to 4 comics per episode, Next Up presents comics that change as quickly as fashion trends do overnight. The pilot episode itself, which was 55 minutes long, featured a dozen or so comics, which were shuffled through fast enough till a winner was found.

As stated before, comics aim to make it till the 3-minute mark without getting shuffled out by the jury, which consists of 4 random participants from the audience, chosen by Madhur himself. To keep things interesting, the jury itself is also shuffled every now and then, usually after every 3-4 acts, with good jury members staying for longer.

What’s in it for the comics? Well, if they manage to stick around for 3 minutes or more, which only a single comic was able to pull off in the pilot episode, they are rewarded with a cash prize, as well as an opening set on one of Madhur’s main shows. The cash prize in the first episode was 11,000/-, which might be subject to change as the show grows or when a potential sponsor shows up.

All in all, Next Up, in my personal opinion, is an interesting way of giving exposure to new and upcoming comics. It can even be called the tinder equivalent of stand-up comedy, with the only difference being that the jury left, or right-swipes the comic on the stage within 3 minutes.

Is Madhur Model Over?

While Madhur Model debuted a month before Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent, it took longer to take off, only gaining massive traction as the audience rushed to find an alternative after Raina’s show was shut down following a major controversy in February 2025.

Over time, Madhur Model has managed to gain a massive following, thanks to its introduction of the ingenious ‘giveaway’ mechanics, which also includes the audience in the show. Owing to this, many are worried that the OG show might have come to an end with the introduction of Next Up.

Fortunately enough, there is nothing from Madhur’s side that indicates that Madhur Model might be coming to an end soon. In fact, it was mentioned in Next Up’s pilot episode how the former remains as the “Best F#####g Show”, and that the new show is a completely stand-alone IP, not meant to replace the existing show.