TV Nation

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TV Nation was a satirical newsmagazine television series written, directed and hosted by Michael Moore that was funded and originally broadcast on the British network, the BBC. It was broadcast in the United States on NBC in the summer of 1994, FOX in the summer of 1995, and in the UK by the BBC. It contained investigative reports into various aspects of American life interspersed with survey results that showed the American public to be less than educated about issues that matter. Many of its segments were short-form versions of Michael Moore's documentaries, filmed and presented in a similar style.

The show featured segments such as "The Corporate Challenge," in which CEOs are challenged to prove they can use the products their companies create; the storming of a supposedly "private" beach; a campaign to have Congress declare a "TV Nation Day"; and "Crackers, the Corporate Crime-Fighting Chicken." Among its correspondents were Janeane Garofalo, Karen Duffy, Jonathan Katz and Louis Theroux. "Crackers" was played by "TV Nation" writer John Derevlany.

TV Nation won an Emmy in 1995 for Outstanding Informational Series. Adventures In A TV Nation, a book about the series written by Moore and the show's producer, Kathleen Glynn, was published in 1998. The show is often credited as the inspiration for Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

The show was named number 90 on the list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. BFI explained what made it British: "[TV Nation] was influential on the English comedian-turned-campaigner Mark Thomas. TV Nation also featured early appearances by Louis Theroux, whose Weird Weekends series continued to explore the oddities of American culture." [1] Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends is not on the list.

Moore followed TV Nation with another television series, The Awful Truth, which was funded by the British TV company, Channel 4. It was broadcast on the Bravo cable television network in the US from 1999 to 2000.