Have you ever placed Oprah Winfrey and the Catholic Church
on a scale of wickedness? No? Well Lewis Black is ready to do exactly that in
his new Comedy Central show, “The Root of All Evil.”
Lewis Black and his dark, irreverent sense of humor will
premiere in a new show titled “The Root of All Evil” on Comedy Central, March
12. The veteran stand-up comedian plans to put pop culture on trial and give
the final verdict.
Lewis will act as judge while comedians Andrew Daly, Greg
Giraldo, Andy Kindler, Kathleen Madigan, Patton Oswalt and Paul F. Tompkins argue
in pairs, as the hard-working, witty and merciless advocates who accuse and
defend those on trial. The viewers are the jurors, as they vote via text
messaging, and the results are announced at the end of the show.
The first episode, “Oprah vs. The Catholic Church,” airs Wednesday,
March 12, at 10:30 p.m. In the second installment, Black and his acolytes
wonder who is more wicked, Donald Trump or Viagra.
During the show’s half-hour, the studio audience will hear,
amused or shocked, chuckling or agape, how the advocates mercilessly tear down
the accused. The comedians bring to their aid verbal and video evidence to
prove their point and demolish the opponent’s.
Future episodes have Paris Hilton and Vice President Dick
Cheney compete for title of most malevolent, as well as North Korean dictator
Kim Jong-il and Tila Tequila, star of the MTV bisexual-themed reality dating
show.
Further in the season, turn on your TV to watch episodes
such as Beer vs. Weed; YouTube vs. Porn; “American Idol” vs. High School; and Las Vegas vs. The Human
Body.
The 59-year-old Lewis seems endlessly inspired by his show’s
theme.
“You pretty much could go anywhere. You could have Martha
Stewart versus … what’s that other one who has the fruity show [Rachael Ray]?” he
told the New York Times in an interview.
“You could compare Wal-Mart with any bad disco or club. And
you have to put ‘Rambo’ up against something. You could do ‘Rambo’ versus
‘Rocky 6,’ ” he continued.
There probably is a bottomless well of potential candidates
at wickedness. And Lewis is more than willing to try his best at surprising us
with his choices.
Lewis Black, Scott Carter and David Sacks and are the show’s
executive producers, with Jo Anne Astrow and Mark Lonow as the co-executive producers.
Stay updated on the goings-on with Lewis Black’s official
website,
http://www.lewisblack.com/
