''Cracking Up'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

created by Mike White, who also served as the series'

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

. It aired on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

from March 9 to April 5, 2004.

Premise

A psychiatrist (

Henry Gibson James Bateman (September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009), known professionally as Henry Gibson, was an American actor, comedian and poet. He played roles in the television sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 1971, w ...

) is sent to examine Tanner Shackleton ( Bret Loehr), a child of a Beverly Hills family, only to discover that Tanner doesn't have any problems — his family does. The story was about Ben Baxter (

Jason Schwartzman Jason Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor, musician, and member of the Coppola family. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has since appeared in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjee ...

), a student who moves into the Shackletons' guest house, interacting with Tanner ( Bret Loehr) and his crazy family.

Cast

Molly Shannon Molly Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for playing Joanne ...

as Lesley Shackleton *

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy '' Happy Gilmore'', a role he’d later reprise in 2025’s sequel '' H ...

as Ted Shackleton *

Caitlin Wachs Caitlin Elizabeth Wachs (pronounced ''wax''; born March 15, 1989) is an American production coordinator and actress. She appeared alongside Ally Walker and Robert Davi on the NBC television series '' Profiler'' in the role of Chloe Waters. ...

as Chloe Shackleton *

Jake Sandvig Steven Jacob "Jake" Sandvig (born September 8, 1986) is an American former actor and nurse. He is best known for playing Hugh Pyne in '' Twenty Good Years'' and Preston Shackleton in '' Cracking Up''. In 2009, he made a guest appearance in '' Rub ...

as Preston Shackleton * Bret Loehr as Tanner Shackleton * David Walton as Liam Connor *

as Ben Baxter

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{Mike White 2004 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s American single-camera sitcoms American English-language television shows Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by Mike White (filmmaker) Fox Broadcasting Company sitcoms