Dropouts Game Changer finale: Sam Reich reveals the secrets of Last Talent Standing

Game Changer Season 8 ended with — not a bang — but buzzers! In "Last Talent Standing," Dropout collided a talent show competition with Squid Game, where each axed contender means prize money is added to a hovering piggy bank.

Host (and Mashable 101 honoree) Sam Reich not only welcomed 23 contestants on stage to compete, but also three celebrity judges, made up of celebrated stand-up comedians Gianmarco Soresi, Kumail Nanjiani, and Maria Bamford.

The results were a wildly entertaining and incredibly stressful finale, in which beloved Dropout contributors did everything from performing magic tricks and improvising a Disney musical number to feats of strength and celebrity impersonations, to taking some big, unpredictable swings.

How did this all come together? Was Soresi cast to play the heel? What mini-games got cut before cameras rolled? And when can fans purchase their own Sam Reich beach towel on the Dropout store? SEE ALSO: 'Bluey' has an unexpected Dropout connection beyond the 'Game Changer' shock Mashable Entertainment Editor, Kristy Puchko, sat down with Sam over a video call to dig into the secrets of "Last Talent Standing." Here's what we learned: Gianmarco Soresi was originally cast as a contestant.

In the "Last Talent Standing," Reich jokes that the comedian who's previously crushed on " Crowd Control " was intentional in the "Simon Cowell seat," alluding to the American Idol judge's reputation for being tough on contestants.

Speaking with Puchko, Reich explained, "[Soresi] was going to be a contestant in the episode and had no idea what the creative was.

After we had booked Kumail and Maria, I realized that they were both very nice, and that I had almost like a creative problem I needed to solve for.

Insofar as I needed someone there with a little bit more edge.

And I knew that Gianmarco had what it took.

So, he got upgraded from player to judge." SEE ALSO: Dropout's Sam Reich offers advice for emerging content creators What mini-games were cut from "Last Talent Standing?" As alluded to throughout the finale, this talent show took a lot of time to shoot.

So, some ideas for the game were cut before the cameras rolled.

"The original game design here was that, in between every round, there was a mini-game where they all competed in the same talent," Reich told Mashable.

"I think we had like a jazz scat off.

We had best Scottish accent.