''Fact Checkers Unit'' (''FCU'') was originally a short film featured in the

2008 Sundance Film Festival The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''. Fil ...

starring

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

, and was later turned into a

branded entertainment In marketing, branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is content produced by an advertiser or content whose creation was funded by an advertiser. In contrast to content marketing (in which content is presented first and foremost as a m ...

series for

Samsung Mobile Samsung Mobile Division is one of five divisions within Samsung Electronics, belonging to the Samsung Group, and consists of the Mobile Communications Division, Telecommunication Systems Division, Computer Division, MP3 Business Team, Mobile So ...

Plot

''Fact Checkers Unit'' is a short television series where the audience follows two overzealous fact checkers, Dylan (

Brian Sacca Brian Sacca (born 1978) is an American actor, writer, and producer from Lockport, NY who creates both digital media as well as traditional film/TV content. He is most recently known for playing Robbie Feinberg in '' The Wolf of Wall Street''. He c ...

) and Russell (Peter Karinen), who travel the world and stop at nothing to check and confirm every celebrity fact—no matter how big, how small, or how obscure. During their adventures, Dylan and Russell are each assisted by their

Samsung Galaxy Note The Samsung Galaxy Note series is a discontinued line of high-end Android phablets and smartphones developed and marketed by Samsung Electronics. The line is primarily oriented towards pen computing; all Galaxy Note models ship with a styl ...

, the branded product.

Cast

as Dylan * Peter Karinen as Russell *

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...

as Paula The series also features a number of celebrities playing characters with the same name as themselves.

Development and release

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

aided in the co-development of the script in order to illustrate specific key elements of the Galaxy Note. The ''FCU'' pilot episode was aired on August 17, 2010, and the first season was broadcast from August 17, 2010 to September 24, 2010. The second season aired from December 12, 2011 to May 25, 2012. Each episode is roughly four minutes long. ''FCU'' features celebrity guests including T-Pain, Moby,

Zach Gilford Zachary Michael Gilford (born January 14, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC sports drama series '' Friday Night Lights''. In 2021, he starred in the Netflix horror limited series ''Midnight Mass''. In 2022, ...

, and

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...

. ''FCU'' videos were originally available on-line and on mobile devices through MTV's international websites. Social media campaigning aided in the popularity of the show. Season 2 of ''FCU'' generated over 9 million global views within six weeks. The series has been shared through entertainment, tech, and music sites as well as publication such as ''Variety'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', and the ''

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''.

Festivals and awards

''FCU'' has been shown in six different languages and has participated in film festivals such as SXSW, MIPTV, the

, the Geneva Film Festival, and the BANFF World Media Festival. In the 2011 BANFF Television Festival, ''FCU'' won the BANFF Rockie Award for "Best Branded Entertainment" for the episode, "Fear of Flying".

Episodes

Season One: 2010

* Episode 1: ''Paranormal Factivity'' (17 August 2010) * Episode 2: ''Fear of Flying'' (17 September 2010) * Episode 3: ''SPF 125'' (17 August 2010) * Episode 4: ''Gilfanator'' (17 September 2010) * Episode 5: ''Turn Up the Heater with Jon Heder'' (30 August 2010) * Episode 6: ''The Rider'' (6 September 2010) * Episode 7: ''Blonde on Blonde'' (9 September 2010) * Episode 8: ''Fact Master'' (24 September 2010)

Season Two: 2011-2012

* Episode 1: ''Moby's Grammy'' (12 December 2011) * Episode 3: ''Excessive Gass'' (26 December 2011) * Episode 4: ''Fly Like a Buttress'' (26 December 2011) * Episode 5: ''Party in My Mouth'' (26 December 2011) * Episode 6: ''James Franco is Preggers'' (25 May 2012)