Crank Yankers is an American puppet TV show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison. The Show features real crank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests. A visual interpretation is added to the phone in the form of puppets who take the roles of actors. The story is located in Yankerville, an imaginary city where no one is safe from crank calls.

The show premiered on Comedy Central on Jun 2, 2002 where it was aired until 2005. Crank Yankers returned on TV screens on February 9, 2007, this time on MTV2, where they were running until March 30, 2007.

While the show was still being written, the original title of the series was ‘Prank Puppets’. It was changed when a Comedy Central lawyer advised producer Adam Carolla that title ‘implied spite and malice’ and that it was a ‘legal liability’. None of the crew really believed that argument but, despite that, they decided to change the name.

An opening disclaimer for Crank Yankers is – “The calls you are about to see are real. The names have not been changed. Screw the innocent.” Each episode features several segments that range from the absurd to the weird and insane. Some of the famous scenes have gone viral in past few years. One example is of an old man who wants to rent a tuxedo and never return it. He needs a tuxedo to bury his brother in it. Another famous sequence from the show is a job offer to a woman for work in a “BBBBBBBBBB Enterprises” on the position of receptionist. Puppets would place crank calls to unsuspecting people, who worked at businesses ranging from a retail store to private detective agencies.

Crank Yankers are released on uncensored DVD in 2004 and 2005. The special edition DVD, “The Best of Crank Yankers”, featured 60 favorite phone calls, was released in 2007.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank_Yankers