Join or Die with Craig Ferguson is an American panel show hosted by Scottish-American comedian Craig Ferguson. The sole season, consisting of 22 episodes, began airing on History on February 18, 2016. The show features Ferguson and a panel of special guests including comedians, actors and academics discussing unorthodox and provocative historical topics.[1]
| Join or Die with Craig Ferguson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presented by | Craig Ferguson |
| Narrated by | Shadoe Stevens |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Craig Ferguson Phil Cottone Brian Volk-Weiss Jim Biederman Tim Healy Matt Ginsburg Paul Cabana |
| Production locations | Los Angeles, California |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Comedy Dynamics Green Mountain West Lionsgate TV |
| Original release | |
| Network | History |
| Release | February 18 – July 28, 2016 |
The title of the show refers to the well-known 1754 political cartoon of the same name, which was created by Benjamin Franklin and became a symbol of colonial freedom during the American Revolutionary War. Ferguson also got the cartoon tattooed on his arm when he became an American citizen.[2]
Production
editIndividual episodes cover topics such as bad medical ideas, worst political blunder, most influential drug, most influential band, greatest Founding Father, and history's biggest frenemies. Ferguson and a three-guest panel (usually consisting of scholars, comedians and people who Ferguson "talked to, liked, and respected" during his time as host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) conduct a humorous discussion about six candidates for the title in question.[3] Viewers are invited to vote for their top choice on Twitter, and once the panel has narrowed the field from six candidates to two, the studio audience decides the winner by majority vote.
Each episode starts with a humorous monologue by Ferguson; the first 13 episodes also end with a more contemplative one in which he relaxes on the set with his suit jacket, vest, and tie removed.
During the February 24, 2016 episode of the online show Larry King Now, Ferguson told host Larry King that 22 episodes of Join or Die had already been produced. He added that the History Channel had placed an order for additional episodes.[4] However, on March 31, 2017, during an episode of Ferguson's new Sirius XM radio show on which King was a guest, he stated that the show had been cancelled.[citation needed]
The final episode of the season, "History's Biggest Douchebag", was scheduled for June 16, 2016, but it was removed from the day's schedule.[5] "History's Biggest Douchebag" aired July 28, 2016 on History Canada.[citation needed]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "History's Biggest Political Blunder" | Jimmy Kimmel, Jen D'Angelo and Howard Bragman | February 18, 2016 | 0.72[6] | |
|
Biggest Political Blunder Shortlist: | |||||
| 2 | "History's Worst Medical Advice" | Chris Hardwick, Jordan Carlos and Bob Pflugfelder | February 18, 2016 | 0.43[6] | |
|
Worst Medical Advice Shortlist:
| |||||
| 3 | "History's Biggest Frenemies" | Courteney Cox, Dan Soder and Michael Ian Black | February 25, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Biggest Frenemies Shortlist:
| |||||
| 4 | "History's Most Doomed Presidential Campaign" | Dan Schnur, Bryan Callen and Elijah Wood | March 3, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Most Doomed Presidential Campaign Shortlist: | |||||
| 5 | "History's Worst Tyrant" | Julie Bowen, Dan Levy and Laila Lalami | March 10, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Worst Tyrant Shortlist: Note: Ferguson states that Joseph Stalin was deliberately omitted from the list due to the sheer number of victims who died under his rule. | |||||
| 6 | "History's Craziest Cult" | Jack Black, Tymberlee Hill and Stephen Prothero | March 17, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Craziest Cult Shortlist: | |||||
| 7 | "History's Greatest Invention Since 1950" | Trace Adkins, Kate Flannery and Lori Greiner | March 24, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Greatest Invention Since 1950 Shortlist: | |||||
| 8 | "History's Most Influential Band" | Lars Ulrich, Tom Papa and Alan Light | March 31, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Most Influential Band Shortlist: | |||||
| 9 | "The Drug That Changed the World" | David Eisenbach, Maria Bello and Derek Waters | April 7, 2016 | N/A | |
| 10 | "History's Biggest Fall from Grace" | Jay Leno, Mark Forward and Howard Bragman | April 14, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Biggest Fall from Grace Shortlist: | |||||
| 11 | "History's Greatest Man-Made Structure" | Adam Goldberg, Noel Wells and Ty Pennington | April 21, 2016 | N/A | |
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Greatest Man-Made Structure Shortlist: | |||||
| 12 | "History's Most Plausible Conspiracy Theory" | Judd Apatow, Kurt Braunohler and Mike Massimino | April 28, 2016 | N/A | |
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Most Plausible Conspiracy Theory Shortlist: | |||||
| 13 | "History's Biggest Presidential Bad Boy" | Angela Kinsey, Heather McDonald and Joel Stein | May 5, 2016 | N/A | |
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Biggest Presidential Bad Boy Shortlist: | |||||
| 14 | "History's Dumbest Mistake" | Dan Riskin, Ian Abramson and Tim Meadows | May 12, 2016 | N/A | |
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Dumbest Mistake Shortlist:
| |||||
| 15 | "History's Biggest Unsolved Mystery" | Michael Ian Black, Josh Wolf and Jason Biggs | May 12, 2016 | N/A | |
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Biggest Unsolved Mystery Shortlist: | |||||
| 16 | "History's Greatest Unexplained Phenomenon" | Mike Massimino, Megan Amram and Larry King | May 19, 2016 | N/A | |
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Greatest Unexplained Phenomenon Shortlist: | |||||
| 17 | "History's Greatest Gangster" | Derrick Pitts, Thomas Dale and Joel McHale | May 19, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Greatest Gangster Shortlist: | |||||
| 18 | "History's Most Defiant Moments of the Last 75 Years" | John Avlon, Yvette Nicole Brown and Lisa Kudrow | May 26, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Most Defiant Moments of the Last 75 Years Shortlist:
| |||||
| 19 | "History's Best Founding Father" | Joel Stein, Jo Koy and Fred Willard | May 26, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Best Founding Father Shortlist: | |||||
| 20 | "History's Biggest Fraud" | Joel Stein, Russell Peters and Michael Sheen | June 9, 2016 | N/A | |
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Biggest Fraud Shortlist: | |||||
| 21 | "History's Biggest Badass" | Evy Poumpouras, Mark Forward and Regis Philbin | June 9, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Biggest Badass Shortlist: | |||||
| 22 | "History's Biggest Douchebag" | Kal Penn, Echo Kellum and Leonard Maltin | July 28, 2016 | N/A | |
|
Biggest Douchebag Shortlist: | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Join or Die with Craig Ferguson". history.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
- ^ Erik Pedersen (6 January 2016). "'Join Or Die With Craig Ferguson' Launching In February on History – TCA - Deadline". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
- ^ Lloyd, Robert (11 February 2016). "Craig Ferguson once again cracks wise on the History Channel's new panel show, 'Join or Die'". Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "Craig Ferguson Talks New Late Night Gig, 2016 Election & Being Dismissed from Jury Duty". Larry King Now. 24 February 2016. Event occurs at 4:21. Ora TV. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - join or die with craig ferguson on history". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ a b Alex Welch (2016-02-19). "Thursday cable ratings: 'Vikings' premieres well, 'WWE Smackdown' stays steady". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-02-20.