The show featured host Colin Quinn and a panel of comedian guests, discussing politics, current events, and social issues.

Quinn would then stand in front of a pool table, or sit on the edge of it, very often sipping coffee, eating or perusing through a newspaper.

The show featured many different comedians, including well-known comics such as George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld and Kevin Hart, but the core group that was regularly rotated into the show's panels and often paired together was: On September 26, 2003, Comedy Central aired an hour-long Tough Crowd themed stand-up comedy special called Tough Crowd Stands Up hosted by Quinn and featuring stand-up sets from the show's 5 regulars: DiPaolo, Giraldo, Norton, O'Neal, and Vos.

Jim Norton addressed the program's demise on his blog, where he mentioned that Comedy Central would send down notes to the show discouraging the predominant focus on political topics and discussions about race and ethnic issues.

The last show contained emotional monologues by Quinn, who attacked his detractors (such as The New York Times) as being hypocritical and elitist for their negative reviews.