Contest Searchlight: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Contest Searchlight is a four-episode fictional comedy television series, it is a documentary-style parody or mockumentary of the HBO network's non-fictional 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 car 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.

Series details

• Title: Contest Searchlight
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 2002-08-14
• Final broadcast date listed: 2002-09-04
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: Comedy Central
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 30086
• TVDB ID: 71234

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2002-08-14; final listed air date 2002-09-04.

Source and licence

Adapted from Contest Searchlight on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.