Crossballs: The Debate Show

Crossballs: The Debate Show is a Comedy Central television show which poked fun at cable news networks' political debate shows, especially CNN's Crossfire and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. 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. Show number 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, 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.

Cast members

 * Chris Tallman - Host of Crossballs
 * Matt Besser - Fake Guest Debater
 * Mary Birdsong - Fake Guest Debater
 * Andrew Daly - Fake Guest Debater
 * Jerry Minor - Fake Guest Debater
 * Sean Conroy - Occasional Fake Guest Debater (3 episodes)
 * Rich Fulcher - Occasional Fake Guest Debater (2 episodes)

Notable real guests

 * Chris Simcox - Minuteman Civil Defense Corps founder and spokesperson
 * Wiley Drake - outspoken Southern Baptist evangelist
 * Dave Kong - director of the American Atheists California chapter
 * Jackie Christie - wife of professional basketball player Doug Christie