The special featured guest appearances by Sandy Baron, Suzanne Charney, Billy Van, Jerelyn Homer, psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers and Andrea Davidson of the National Ballet of Canada.
The special also presented portrayals of historical couples such as Samson and Delilah, Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella, and Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.
Other segments included "I'm Getting Married", a comedy sketch with Billy Van and Sandy Baron, and an advice feature with Dr. Joyce Brothers providing relationship insights.
According to Winters, he developed the concept as a TV special and pilot, aiming for an ABC summer series, but the network chose the Smothers Brothers instead.
Despite feeling wronged, Winters said he refrained from legal action to avoid conflicts with a major network but remained convinced his idea was the foundation of the successful CBS show.
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was originally supposed to be a summer replacement series, but high ratings gave Silverman sufficient reason to bring it back later that year, with a permanent spot on the schedule.
Regulars included: Among the many guests who appeared on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour were Carol Burnett, George Burns, Glen Campbell, Tony Curtis, Bobby Darin, Phyllis Diller, Merv Griffin, the Jackson 5, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ronald Reagan, Burt Reynolds, The Righteous Brothers, Dinah Shore, Sally Struthers, the Supremes,[6] Chuck Berry, and Dick Clark.
While it retained the creative team behind The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Bono's solo effort was largely a victim of the show's weak time slot and the established hits it faced on NBC and CBS.
Among the many guests who appeared on the Cher show were Bette Midler, Elton John, Pat Boone, David Bowie, Ray Charles, Steve Martin, The Jackson 5, Ike & Tina Turner, Dion, Wayne Newton, Linda Ronstadt, Flip Wilson, Lily Tomlin, Frankie Valli, Tatum O'Neal,[9] Raquel Welch, Wayne Rogers,[10] and Labelle.
The duo's opening conversations were markedly more subdued and made low-key references to the couple's divorce, as well as Cher's subsequent marriage to Gregg Allman.
The cast of regulars included Comedy Hour alums Ted Zeigler and Billy Van, Gailard Sartain (on loan from Peppiatt and Aylesworth's other series Hee Haw), announcer Jack Harrell (who later gained fame as the longtime announcer for the original version of The People's Court), and mime duo Shields and Yarnell.
Some of the guests who appeared on The Sonny and Cher Show included Frankie Avalon, Muhammad Ali, Raymond Burr, Ruth Buzzi, Charo, Barbara Eden, Neil Sedaka, Farrah Fawcett, Bob Hope, Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis, Tony Orlando, The Osmonds, Debbie Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers, Tina Turner, Twiggy, The Jacksons, and Betty White.
[12] The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour taped its opening and closing segments in front of a live studio audience.
Due to blocking, costuming, and other staging and production requirements, most of the comedy segments were taped without an audience, with a laugh track added in postproduction.