Assassin

George W. Bush had just secured a second term, and Margaret Cho was not taking it well. Evolving from her 2004 State of Emergency tour, Assassin is less of a traditional stand-up hour and more of a political rally for an exhausted liberal base. Cho aims directly at the defining cultural touchstones of the mid-2000s—the Iraq War, the religious right’s handling of Terri Schiavo, the death of Pope John Paul II, and the battle over gay marriage. She leans entirely into partisan anger, trading observational setups for an open attack on the conservative establishment.

Filmed in May 2005 at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C., the special premiered later that year on the LGBTQ network Here! TV. Cho was deep into her pivot from mainstream sitcom star to political activist, and the reception reflected the country’s polarization. The release earned a dismal 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with a vocal contingent of critics arguing the comedy had been completely swallowed by her political agenda. Even supportive reviewers noted the set felt exceptionally bitter, resulting in an hour that functioned mostly to validate the frustrations of the crowd already in the room.