Contest Searchlight | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Jim Serpico |
Starring | Denis Leary Lenny Clarke |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Apostle |
Original release | |
Network | Comedy Central |
Release | August 1 – September 1, 2002 |
Contest Searchlightis a four-episode scripted comedy television series that aired in 2002 on the Comedy Central network. It was a documentary-style parody or mockumentary of the HBO (and later Bravo) network's reality television series Project Greenlight .
Contest Searchlight starred Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke, playing slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, as TV producers holding a nationwide contest to select a new television series to produce for the Comedy Central network. When none of the proposed submissions prove acceptable, Leary and Clarke end up combining several of the finalist's proposals to produce a new, semi-improvised ensemble sitcom entitled "Jesus and the Gang." The new show ostensibly stars New York City theatre and television actor Peter Gallagher (again playing a fictionalized version of himself), but when Gallagher is hit by a motorist during the filming of a network promotion, the lead role is shifted to comedian Patrice O'Neal. During rehearsals for the premiere episode, the actors, crew and producers all start fighting each other (and themselves), and "Jesus and the Gang" is permanently shelved.
Contest Searchlight was shown in a pseudo-documentary style, and there was no laugh track or other obvious sign that this was a fictional series. Following Peter Gallagher's exit from the show, both he and Comedy Central received a number of panicked calls from viewers who believed that Gallagher really had been hit by a motorist.
A fully produced version of the "Jesus and the Gang" theme song appears as the eighth track on Leary's 2004 album, Merry F#%$in' Christmas.
Denis Colin Leary is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV and through the stand-up specials No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). Leary began taking roles in film and television starting in the 1990s, including substantial roles in the films Judgment Night (1993), Gunmen (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and Wag the Dog (1997).
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Women's Image Network (WIN) is an organization that creates, applauds and shares stories because powerful and excellent media builds inclusive and tolerant communities. Each year since 1993, to increase the value of women and girls, Women's Image Network has been promoting gender parity by producing The Women's Image Awards, which celebrate outstanding film and television that also dispels media stereotypes. Awards, The Women's Image Awards are produced just before the Hollywood awards season.