Tracey Ullman's State of the Union is an American sketch comedy series starring Tracey Ullman. The series was written by Ullman along with Hollywood satirist Bruce Wagner. Gail Parent and Craig DiGregorio acted as contributing writers to the series' first season. The show ran for three seasons on Showtime. On May 17, 2010, it was announced that the show would not be returning for a fourth season. Premise The show takes a satirical look at a day in the life of America. Cast Tracey Ullman as Various Scott Bakula as Chris Fulbright Jennifer Fitzgerald as Various Jo Ann Harris as Various Lily Holleman as Various Johnny McKeown as Various Sam McMurray as Various Larry Poindexter as Various Vonda Shepard as Various Dylan Sprayberry as Jesse Lynne Marie Stewart as Various Peter Strauss as Narrator Production After her HBO sketch comedy television series Tracey Takes On... ended in 1999, Ullman was looking to take a break from her multi-character television work. She had plans to develop a new show where she'd play at most three characters. In the meantime, she continued to work in film and on her e-commerce boutique Purple Skirt. The web site would become the basis for the fashion-based talk show Tracey Ullman's Visible Panty Lines for Oxygen in 2001. She returned to HBO in 2003 with the television special Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales, which she produced and directed, along with a film version of her one-woman show Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed in 2005. She later approached the network with an idea for a new sketch comedy series which HBO ultimately wasn't in the market for. She then brought the idea to Showtime. President of Entertainment at Showtime, Robert Goldblatt, recalled Ullman fondly from his days working at Fox. "I have always loved Tracey Ullman ever since I was a young development executive at Fox when she was doing the original 'Tracey Ullman Show,' ... She is a one-of-a-kind comedienne and sketch comedy performer, a true artist. We are so proud to bring her to Showtime in a completely new show that will again showcase what she does best, and in this case, she will be looking at the wide cross-section of Americans and both celebrating us and sending us up." Format The show is shot in cutaway fashion, with each sketch lasting only a few seconds to a few minutes, much like a YouTube