''Funny or Die Presents'' is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the comedy website

Funny or Die Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a reg ...

, created by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

and Adam McKay. It premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

on February 19, 2010.

Creation

Funny or Die Presents was created in June 2008 when HBO bought a stake in Funnyordie.com and commissioned that at least 10 episodes be broadcast on HBO as part of the deal.

Description

Every show consists of several comedy sketches that vary in length and can contain several sketches or even one full length sketch.

Format

The program is viewed as if you are watching a

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

called "The Funny or Die Network" (sometimes referred to as FOD) which is a hybrid network that fuses the internet with television. Each sketch is viewed as a show on this network, some shows are mini-series, some are shown in parts and some are one offs, only appearing once. In the first episode the network is described as:

What you are about to see is nothing short of a miracle. Television so revolutionary that at this point in time, there is nothing like it anywhere. Now you may ask yourself: "How is this possible?" Computers, that's how! Funny or die is at the forefront of computer technology, leading the way in computer comedy programming. Tonight marks a departure from our usual business model as we join the ever declining world of broadcast television. Think of what you're about to see as kind of a network unto itself, a half-hour network complete with its own lineup of wonderful shows. Basically, the same kinda horseshit we throw up on our website. -Ed Haligan, Head of West Coast sales & marketing

Each episode of Season 1 starts in a white room with Ed Haligan (played by

Steve Tom Stephen Wilson Tom (born September 20, 1953) is an American actor best known for hosting the HBO comedy series ''Funny or Die Presents''. Career He has guest-starred in a number of television series including ''Parks and Recreation, Major Cri ...

) who introduces the show and leads into a starting theme and a "network schedule" which describes the sketches being featured in that particular episode.

Notable sketches

*"1000 Cats" * "Drunk History" *"Derek Waters LOL" *"Playground Politics" *"Designated Driver" *"The Amazing Adventures of David and Jennie" *"Sleeping with Celebrities" *"Welcome to my Study" *"The Slovin & Allen Show" *"Holdup" *"The Carpet Brothers" *"Just 3 Boyz" and "The Terrys" by Tim and Eric

Episodes

Cast

as Ed Haligan, the presenter. The cast of the sketches often include notable celebrities, including: *

Derek Waters Derek Matthew Waters (born July 30, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for his work on the television series '' Drunk History'' (2013–2019), which earned him eight Primetime Emmy Award ...

Malin Åkerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978) is a Swedish actress. In the early 2000s, she had several small television and film parts in both Canadian and American productions, including '' The Utopian Society'' (2003) and ''Harold & Kumar Go to Wh ...

Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider, February 8, 1943) is an American actor, singer and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' ...

Rachael Harris Rachael Elaine Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her numerous acting roles, such as starring as Dr. Linda Martin in ''Lucifer'', her role in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series, and as a gu ...

Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom ''The Offic ...

* Rob Huebel * Rob Riggle *

Paul Scheer Paul Christian Scheer (born January 31, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. Scheer is a SAG award-winning actor known for his roles in Showtime's comedy series '' Black Monday'' and FX/ FXX's '' The ...

Brett Gelman Brett Clifford Gelman (born October 6, 1976) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series '' Stranger Things'' and as Martin on the BBC comedy ''Fleabag''. Gelman bega ...

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...

Jerry Minor Jerome Charles Minor Jr. (born October 4, 1969) 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#US version, Trigger Happy TV'' ...

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...

Thomas Lennon Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series ''Reno 911!'' Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major st ...

* Ian Roberts *

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 ''Th ...

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

Tim Heidecker Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric. He has also appeared in films, including '' Bridesmai ...

Eric Wareheim Eric Alexander Wareheim (; born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician, and winemaker. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Tim Heidecker. He also had a recurring role on the Netf ...

David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...

Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) 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'' ...

June Diane Raphael June Diane Raphael ( ; born January 4, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs ''Burning Love'', Adult Swim's '' NTSF:SD:SUV::'', and ''Grace and Frankie''. Notable film work includes support ...

* Kate Walsh *

Busy Philipps Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER' ...

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned ...

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emm ...

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Wood ...

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors'' ...

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

Maile Flanagan Maile Flanagan () is an American television, film, and voice actress known for her work in cartoons, anime and video games. Some of her prominent roles include Naruto Uzumaki in the English dub of ''Naruto'', Piggley Winks in ''Jakers! The Adve ...

Writing credits

*Andrew Steele (9 episodes) *

Jason Woliner Jason Woliner is an American director, writer and a former child actor who directed the 2020 movie '' Borat Subsequent Moviefilm''. He was the non-performing member of the comedy group Human Giant and directed the bulk of their output. After th ...

(5 episodes) *

Maggie Carey Maggie Carey (born ) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actress. She has directed comedy shorts for television, and she wrote and directed the 2013 film ''The To Do List''. Early life and education Carey was raised in Bois ...

(4 episodes) *Owen Burke (4 episodes) *

(4 episodes) * Rob Riggle (4 episodes) * Rob Huebel (4 episodes) *

Mike O'Connell Michael Thomas O'Connell (born November 25, 1955) is the Director of Pro Development for the Los Angeles Kings. O'Connell was also a former professional ice hockey player and general manager. He played 860 National Hockey League (NHL) regular seas ...

(4 episodes) *

Neal Brennan Neal Brennan (born October 19, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. He is best known for co-creating and co-writing the Comedy Central series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) with Dave Chappelle and for his ...

(4 episodes) *

(3 episodes) *

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 ...

(3 episodes) * Leo Allen (2 episodes) *

Tom Gianas Tom Gianas is an American comedy writer, director and producer. Gianas was the showrunner for the MTV sketch comedy series ''Human Giant''. He has collaborated with and directed Bob Odenkirk in '' Half My Face is A Clown''; Sarah Silverman in ...

(2 episodes) *David Neher (2 episodes) *

(2 episodes) *Jennie Pierson (2 episodes) * T. Sean Shannon (2 episodes) *Eric Slovin (2 episodes) *Derek Waters (2 episodes) *

(1 episode) *

Chris Henchy Christopher Thomas Henchy is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for being a creative collaborator with Will Ferrell, including co-creating the website Funny or Die and writing several Ferrell films, including '' Land of the L ...

(1 episode) * Adam McKay (1 episode) *

(1 episode)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funny Or Die Presents 2010s American sketch comedy television series 2010 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings Television series by Gary Sanchez Productions HBO original programming Television series based on Internet-based works English-language television shows Television series by Funny or Die