''The High Court with Doug Benson'' was an American comedy and arbitration-based reality court show presided over by comedian

Doug Benson Douglas Steven Benson (born July 2, 1962) is an American comedian, marijuana rights advocate, television host and actor, best known for hosting the podcasts and TV series ''Doug Loves Movies'' (2006-present), ''The Benson Interruption'' (2010-20 ...

. ''The High Court with Doug Benson'' premiered on

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 programming ...

on February 28, 2017. In each episode Benson judged real cases while under the influence of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

. This court show also marked the return of

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

to the court show genre.

Development

While pitching the show to Comedy Central,

said that the show would be a "court room show and I'm the judge". Comedy Central accepted it right away, thinking that Benson's antics would be liked by their audience. Benson said the pitch was easiest pitch he had ever made in his career.

Production

Benson was under the influence of

during each trial. Each episode had a special "guest

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

", who helped make the final decision on the case during the

deliberation Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and reason as opposed to power-struggle, creativity, or dialogue. Group decisions are generally made after deliberation ...

, often after smoking from a

bong A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right. ...

on-air along with Benson. All of the cases featured were real and Benson's rulings were real and legally binding. The cases in the show were pulled from the

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

court records, which is a common practice used in other court shows. The show's budget had money allotted for Benson to pay the people pleading their cases if necessary. The show was recorded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where recreational use of cannabis has been legal since 2016. A special ventilation system was added to the deliberation room studio to filter smoke out of the room, so production crew and producers would not be impaired during filming. The series was directed by Sharon Everitt, and produced by JASH and Propagate Content.

Episodes

Home media

''The High Court with Doug Benson'' is available in high-definition and standard-definition video for digital purchase on Google Play, Amazon Video, and on

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

.''The High Court''
on

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:High Court with Doug Benson, The 2010s American late-night television series 2017 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings American television series about cannabis Court shows English-language television shows Comedy Central late-night programming Television shows filmed in California 2010s American reality television series 2010s American legal television series Arbitration courts and tribunals Cannabis in California Comedy Central original programming