Crossballs: The Debate Show was a Comedy Central

Comedy Central

Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

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

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

's Crossfire

Crossfire (TV series)

Crossfire was a current events debate television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal pundit and a conservative pundit.-Format:...

and MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

's Hardball with Chris Matthews

Hardball with Chris Matthews

Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...

. In each episode, comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

s 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 24, 2004. Show number 24 ("Pistol Whipped America") was taped but never aired, after one of the unsuspecting guests, James March, threatened to sue Comedy Central.

Cast members

• Chris Tallman
  Chris Tallman
  Chris Tallman is an American actor and comedian best known for his regular appearances on the Comedy Central programs Crossballs and Reno 911!. Tallman was also the creator of the popular Channel 101 series Time Belt which he wrote, directed, co-produced and starred in...
  
   - Host of Crossballs
• Matt Besser
  Matt Besser
  Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
  
   - Fake Guest Debater
• Mary Birdsong
  Mary Birdsong
  Mary Birdsong is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer.Birdsong was born on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, one of five sisters. She may be best-known for her role as Deputy Cherisha Kimball on the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. She is a former correspondent on The Daily Show and...
  
   - Fake Guest Debater
• Andrew Daly
  Andrew Daly
  Andrew "Andy" Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.-Early life:Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey...
  
   - Fake Guest Debater
• Jerry Minor
  Jerry Minor
  Jerry C. Minor is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his comedic roles in numerous television programs such as Mr. Show, Saturday Night Live, Delocated, Crossballs, Carpoolers and Lucky Louie....
  
   - Fake Guest Debater
• Sean Conroy - Occasional Fake Guest Debater (3 episodes)
• Rich Fulcher
  Rich Fulcher
  Rich Fulcher is an American comedian and author based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for co-starring in the British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, alongside comedy duo Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.-Early life:...
  
   - Occasional Fake Guest Debater (2 episodes)

Notable real guests

• Chris Simcox
  Chris Simcox
  Chris Simcox is the American co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and the project's main spokesperson. He was formerly a kindergarten teacher at the Wildwood School in Los Angeles, California, where he taught for thirteen years....
  
   - Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
  Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
  The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is a volunteer group headed by Chris Simcox and dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the United States border. Arguing that the government is insufficiently concerned with securing the U.S. border, they have organized several state chapters, with the...
  
   founder and spokesperson
• Wiley Drake
  Wiley Drake
  Wiley S. Drake is a California-based minister and radio host. He was the vice-presidential candidate for the America's Independent Party ticket in 2008,. Drake has drawn controversy for his use of imprecatory prayer. He is the pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park in Buena...
  
   - outspoken Southern Baptist evangelist
• Dave Kong - director of the American Atheists
  American Atheists
  American Atheists is an organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating for the complete separation of church and state. It provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs and the news media. It also publishes books and the monthly...
  
   California chapter
• Jackie Christie - wife of professional basketball player Doug Christie
• Zulu- Owner of famous LA tattoo shop Zulu tattoo

External links

• Digital Spy article
• Crossballs Puzzle: Why don't the guests on Comedy Central's fake debate show get the joke?, Jacob Sullum
  Jacob Sullum
  Jacob Z. Sullum is a syndicated newspaper columnist with Creators Syndicate and a Senior Editor at Reason magazine. In 2004, he received a Thomas S. Szasz Award...
  
  , Reason, July 30, 2004
• Email account of nearly appearing on Crossballs by Lauren Weinstein