They are not standup. Standup is about getting laughs. That is all it is about. The laughter of the audience is secondary. You can kill and get passed over.
People kill all the time out here and get passed over.
It drives them crazy because they crush a room and still get passed over. On the other hand, you can go on stage and get tiny chuckles and be plucked immediately by the media gods. People who are very mediocre standups get plucked all the time. Because there is something about them that a particular media casting agent or producer can use, that can be developed, that fills a niche they need filled. Reread the paragraph on what a showcase set is.