It premiered on October 22, 2009, and featured Dunham interacting with the characters that he uses in his ventriloquism act, such as Walter, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Peanut, Bubba J, José Jalapeño on a Stick, and Sweet Daddy Dee.

In the pilot episode, Walter and Jeff visit a licensed psychologist to help them with their personal conflict, Achmed stars in a stand-up comedy DVD, Peanut meets pop singer and reality TV star Brooke Hogan, and Bubba J visits a real rifle range.

Sweet Daddy Dee tries to understand Civil War reenactments, Achmed records his own ringtones, Walter tries to get a vacation for his wife for their anniversary, and Bubba J tries to "drunk-proof" a family's home.

It scored a 20 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 7 reviews by critics,[6] most of whom either questioned the wisdom of the series’ concept, or conceded a prejudice against Dunham, his previous Comedy Central specials, or ventriloquism itself.

[7][8][9][10] Others, like The Hollywood Reporter’s Randee Dawn, criticized the puppets as “racist caricatures.”[11] The show's premiere episode drew 5.3 million viewers, making it the highest Comedy Central premiere of all time,[12] but in its second week, saw a 55% decrease, drawing 2.3 million viewers, a drop that was partially attributed to the World Series drawing sports fans from the show.