On an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien when "Green Screen" premiered, Carey claimed that he got the idea during the Whose Line?

Performers appearing during the series were Drew Carey, Brad Sherwood, Colin Mochrie, Jeff Davis, Greg Proops as regulars, and Chip Esten, Julie Larson, Sean Masterson, Jonathan Mangum, and Kathy Kinney; in addition, both Ryan Stiles and Kaitlin Olson appeared at the pilot taping, although not in any episodes.

Each episode began with Carey walking onstage and demonstrating how the green screen stage could be used to add animation to his actions in post-production.

Drew Carey's Green Screen Show premiered on The WB Network on October 7, 2004.

Coinciding with the show's debut, Carey participated in a number of promotional appearances, such as guest hosting The Late Late Show, and starring in a special episode of Blue Collar TV, Green Screen's lead-in program.

As a result, Carey and executive producer Ron Diamond took the show to Comedy Central, returning it to the air on September 26, 2005.