Two prominent comedians who judged early rounds of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" competition are now saying their picks were overruled in favor of better "casting" for the unscripted series.

Drew Carey and Brett Butler, who served as judges for the selection of the final 10 contestants, both say some of their picks were overruled in favor of creating a more colorful cast for the show, which will return for a second run on NBC in the summer.

"It was not a comedy contest," Carey tells the Los Angeles Times. "I've got no beef against casting a reality show if you want to have a mix, but this was so clearly cast."

Carey and Butler were two of four celebrity judges NBC brought to Las Vegas recently to judge the performances of 20 stand-up comedians vying for a shot on the show. The winner, as voted on, "American Idol" style, by the audience, receives a talent deal with NBC in addition to the exposure gained from the series itself.

The comics' chief complaint is that NBC chose 10 contestants who would make for good reality TV -- the finalists live together during the competition -- rather than necessarily going with the 10 funniest comics.

On her web site, Butler ("Grace Under Fire"), writes that "As panel judges, we can say that (a) we were both surprised and disappointed at the results and (b) we had NOTHING to do with them. Period."

Jeff Gaspin, head of alternative series for NBC, says he's "completely comfortable" with the way the finalists were chosen and says no rules were broken. The show's regulations have a clause saying the producers can use their "discretion" in choosing the contestants.

"The judges alone were not the sole decision-makers, and they probably misunderstood their role in the process," Gaspin says.

Carey counters that audiences will assume the 10 funniest comedians make the cut, and for that reason, he was upset the judges didn't have the final say. "I don't want my name associated with a trick being played on the public," he says.