Early programming on the channel generally consisted of off-net reruns, stand-up comedy routines, British imports, and old movies. The acquisition-heavy lineup included programs such as Monty Python, Dream On, The Tracey Ullman Show, Fawlty Towers, It’s Gary Shandling’s Show, Bob and Mary, and Saturday Night Live. Two of the most popular acquisitions in the early years of the network were Absolutely Fabulous, a farcical series featuring two boozing, pill-popping middle-aged British women and their social excesses, and Kids in the Hall, a sketch-comedy series from a Canadian comedy troupe originally produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Company, CBS, and HBO.

One of the most important early programs appearing on Comedy Central was Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K to its fans). Beginning on HBO’s Comedy Channel in 1989 with an original two-hour license fee of $125,000, the low-budget show featured a smart-mouthed janitor and his two robot pals condemned to watch, and offer running commentary on, cheesy B-grade sci-fi movies. The show won a Peabody Award in 1994, and it was nominated for two Emmys and six CableACEs over its seven-year run on the network. As a quirky low-budget show, however, MST3K had limited potential for attracting a mass audience.

In order to distinguish itself as a channel worthy of carriage and viewers, the network needed original programming. A cheap programming solution resulted in the network becoming more “topical,” developing programming based on news and political events. One of the first efforts was its controversial satirical treatment of President George Bush’s 1992 State of the Union Address, presented as the speech was being delivered. Titled “State of the Union—Undressed,” a panel of “commentators” (comedians) offered their humorous opinions during the natural pauses and breaks for applause throughout the speech (similar in format to an MST3K episode). The broadcast was a success, for the network not only doubled its January ratings but also garnered high-profile press coverage from the First Amendment–related controversy.

By April, the network had decided to continue its satirical treatment of politics by covering both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions to be held that summer. Labeled “Indecision ’92” (the first of similar broadcasts during the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections), the network aired two hours of coverage each night of the Democratic and Republican conventions, offering what it called a “raised eye brow approach” to the proceedings for interested but bored convention viewers (Du Brow).

Though television critics and viewers warmly received these efforts, special-event coverage was not enough to convince many cable operators to include the channel in their lineup. Executives at the network were still clamoring for a signature show that would give the network an identity and get people talking about the network. In 1993 the network achieved that success with Politically Incorrect, a political discussion show hosted by comedian Bill Maher. Politically Incorrect was an original twist on two existing talk show genres, the political pundit and entertainment-variety talk shows. Featuring Maher and four nonexperts on politics discussing current events, the show garnered favorable reviews from critics as a smart, original, and daring contribution to American public discourse. The show became the network’s flagship program in its search for brand identity (while continuing its success with political satire) and eventually ran for four seasons on Comedy Central before moving to the ABC network in early 1997—one of the first instances of programming moving from cable to a broadcast network.

Knowing that Politically Incorrect would depart at the end of the 1996 season, CEO Doug Herzog and programming chief Eileen Katz, both newly arrived from tenures at MTV, sought not only to find a replacement for Politically Incorrect but also to direct the network’s focus to a younger audience. The first significant step in that regard was The Daily Show, a caustic news and talk show hosted by former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Craig Kilborn. The Daily Show is, as one critic described it, the network’s “half-hour send up of news programs in general and sanctimonious news programs in particular” (Strum). Comedian Jon Stewart replaced host Kilborn in 1999, and the show received a Peabody Award in 2001.

With The Daily Show as its programming anchor, the network began a series of innovative and popular original programming moves under the tenure of Herzog (1995–98). On July 28, 1997, the game show Win Ben Stein’s Money premiered, featuring the dry-witted Ben Stein, a former Nixon speechwriter, as host and co-contestant in a trivia game show. Almost two months later, the animated series South Park appeared. Developed by former University of Colorado at Boulder students Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show featured potty-mouthed elementary school children in some of television’s most biting social satire. The program became a breakout hit for the network, with $300 million in merchandising revenue in 1998 and a feature movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut, in 1999. The program also became one of the highest-rated shows on cable, garnering an 8.2 households (HH) rating in 1998, while helping the network achieve an additional 5 million subscriber homes in just six months’ time (Lerman).

By 1999 programming consisted of a 50-50 split between original and acquired shows. With males making up 60 percent of its viewing audience, and 63 percent of the audience between the ages of 18 and 49, the network launched The Man Show in 1999, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (formerly with Win Ben Stein’s Money) and Adam Corrolla (from MTV’s Loveline). Featuring scantily clad women and beer-drinking hosts and audience members, the show is, as one critic described it, “an unapologetic look at things men think, like and do” (Turegano). In terms of acquisitions, the network also began buying rights in 2000 to edgy new film comedies with marginal box office success (such as Being John Malkovich, The Man on the Moon, Cecil B. Demented, Rushmore, and High Fidelity).

In 2001 the network sought to combine its own history as a smart and daring political animal with the success of South Park by offering That’s My Bush!, a live-action sitcom by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The program was a parody that placed newly elected President George W. Bush and his family in a sitcom setting. Though poking fun at Bush as a dim-witted but affable president, the program was also a send-up of the sitcom genre in general, with “typical” sitcom characters, plotlines, music, and so on. At $1 million an episode, it was the most expensive program in the network’s history; it garnered marginal ratings and ran for only eight episodes. The series was daring and controversial, however, for parodying a sitting president and his family in such a scathing manner.

Comedy Central has consistently sought a provocative, edgy, and over-the-top position in the television programming landscape. Network executives contend, however, that they offer more than simply the comedic. “Comedy Central is not a lifestyle channel,” one executive stated. “Dare to watch our programs and you might think in a different way” (Endrst). Whether such high-minded posturing is merited is questionable. Nevertheless, Comedy Central has proven to be one of the best locations on television for significant sociopolitical commentary as well as downright base and trivial entertainment.