''Crossballs: The Debate Show'' is a

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

television show which poked fun at cable news networks' political debate shows, especially

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's ''

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

'' and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

's ''

Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' is an American television talk show hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving to CNBC, and then to M ...

''. In each episode, comedians posing as experts on a particular subject would debate two real commentators. The true experts were unaware that the show was a sham. Topics ranged from reality television to religion to violence in video games. It debuted on July 6, 2004, and ran for eight weeks. It aired Tuesday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The twenty-third and final episode aired on August 25, 2004. Episode 24 ("Pistol Whipped America") was taped but never aired, after one unsuspecting guest named James March threatened to sue Comedy Central. A further legal threat came from radio comedian

Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting '' The Phil Hendrie Show'', a radio talk show where h ...

, who publicly accused the show's creators of stealing the concept of a show he pitched to Comedy Central in 1998, as well as that of ''

The Phil Hendrie Show ''The World of Phil Hendrie'' is a comedy talk radio program. The show debuted in 1990 and appeared in various iterations to the present. It was syndicated throughout North America on Westwood One. It is known for outrageous guests, the majority ...

''.

Cast members

Chris Tallman Christian Tallman (born September 22, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his regular appearances on the Comedy Central programs '' Crossballs'' and ''Reno 911!'' and the Nickelodeon program ''The Thundermans''. Early l ...

- Host of Crossballs *

Matt Besser Matthew Gregory Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, writer, and one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy Central from 1 ...

- Fake Guest Debater *

Mary Birdsong Mary Evans Birdsong (born April 18, 1968) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. In addition to her work in theater and voice acting, she was a regular cast member on '' Reno 911!'' and appeared in the HBO series '' Succession''. ...

- Fake Guest Debater *

Andrew Daly Andrew Daly (born April 15, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series ''Review'', and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series ''Eastbound & Down'' as Terrence Cutler. He has also m ...

- Fake Guest Debater *

Jerry Minor Jerome Charles Minor Jr. is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his comedic roles in numerous television programs such as '' Mr. Show'', ''Saturday Night Live'', '' Trigger Happy TV'', '' Delocated'', ''Brickleberry'', '' Unbreakable ...

- Fake Guest Debater * Sean Conroy - Occasional Fake Guest Debater (3 episodes) *

Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1963) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series ''Jon Benjamin Has a Van''. ...

- Occasional Fake Guest Debater (2 episodes)

Episodes

Notable real guests

* Chris Simcox - Minuteman Civil Defense Corps founder and spokesperson * Wiley Drake - outspoken Southern Baptist evangelist * Jackie Christie - wife of professional basketball player Doug Christie

References

External links

*
Crossballs Puzzle: Why don't the guests on Comedy Central's fake debate show get the joke?

Jacob Sullum Jacob Z. Sullum (born September 5, 1965) is a syndicated newspaper columnist with Creators Syndicate and a senior editor at ''Reason'' magazine. He focuses most of his writings on shrinking the realm of politics and expanding individual choice. He ...

, ''Reason'', July 30, 2004
Email account of nearly appearing on ''Crossballs''
by Lauren Weinstein {{Comedy Central programming 2004 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s American political comedy television series 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American television news shows 2000s American television talk shows American news parodies Comedy Central original programming Debate television series American English-language television shows Political satirical television series Television series about television Hoaxes