''Dog Bites Man'' was a partially improvised

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...

that aired in summer 2006. It began airing on

The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Serv ...

in Australia in June 2007. The series was produced by

DreamWorks Television DreamWorks Television was an American television distribution and production company based in Universal City, California, that was a division of DreamWorks. It folded into Amblin Television in 2013. History DreamWorks Television was formed ...

Premise

''Dog Bites Man'' was a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of local news coverage, and followed the misadventures of a struggling news team from

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

as they traveled around the country producing news segments. A

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

, the show incorporated scenes with the cast in traditional

skits Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

as well as them improvising with non-actors, who believed that they are an actual (albeit unusual) news crew.

Disclaimer

Perhaps to lessen confusion pertaining to the true reality of the show, starting with episode five each episode began with the following message: ''"With the exception of the news team, the following episode contains real people who were not made aware they were being filmed as part of a comedy show."''

Cast

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show '' Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''T ...

as Alan Finger, the show's incompetent director. Also a musician, in episode three he scored a hit song in Panama City using the name "The Finger" (the song was titled "Come on and Get It (Up in Dem Guts)"). * A.D. Miles as Marty Shonson, an intern who serves as a production assistant. *

Andrea Savage Andrea Kristen Savage (born February 20, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, and writer known for her roles in projects such as the Comedy Central mockumentary series '' Dog Bites Man'' (2006), the comedy film '' Step Brothers'' (2008), Hulu ...

as Tillie Sullivan, the team's producer. * Matt Walsh as Kevin Beekin, the star reporter for the news show, who used to date Tillie the producer and still has feelings for her.

Cancellation

When asked on

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's ''The State'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the ''Wet Hot ...

's webisode series ''The Michael Showalter Showalter'' if

had cancelled the show,

replied "Yes, thank God." He went on to explain that "messing with people" made him uncomfortable.

Episodes

''All titles were prefaced with "Assignment:"''

Home media

This DVD Release is made from DreamWorks Home Entertainment.

Producers and creators

* Jonathan Barry - Executive Producer * Justin Falvey - Executive Producer * Darryl Frank - Executive Producer *Dan Mazer - Executive Producer * Keith Raskin - Producer *Dan Mazer - Creator

References

Journos Go Wild

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

, June 1, 2006

External links

* {{Comedy Central programming 2000s American mockumentary television series 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American sitcoms 2000s American television news shows 2006 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings American news parodies Comedy Central original programming Criticism of journalism English-language television shows Television series by DreamWorks Television Television news sitcoms Television shows set in Washington (state) Hoaxers