The long-running show returns for a brand new season this September

The Debaters is back for a brand new season and it's one for the record books -- this year marks 20 years of comedic battles!

Steve Patterson, the host of The Debaters -- and an accomplished stand up comedian and published writer besides -- says that longevity is a testament to the format of the radio show and podcast which pits comedians in Canada against one another for absurd topics, like whether ketchup is better than mustard.

"I still remember getting the call, "How would you like to host The Debaters? And I said this is going to be a great year of work," Patterson said, laughing.

"It's an amazing format that, I'll be very honest, I didn't think we would still be going, you know, 20 years into something. This is a gig that I'm very appreciative of."

Debuting at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, The Debaters was the brainchild of Richard Side, a writer, performer, and producer for the show's first twelve seasons.

Side had been working with semi-improvised formats for stage, experimenting with different styles of talk shows, game shows, and sitcoms.

Watching stand up comedy on TV one day, he was struck by the idea of creating something that would be more collaborative and improvisational between the comics.

"I think early on [it's] like, 'oh, I work alone, I'm a comic.' They get on stage and.. it's like, 'hey, this thing was made for me,'" said Side. "And then all the work they do, this collaboration and the excitement, it's something I think that we really pioneered to create community."

Over the years, the show's format -- travelling to different locations across the country featuring comics and debate topics from that region -- adds another dimension to the comedy.

"Remember in Ottawa [and] we had bad weather and Graham Kay couldn't make his flight or it was late. And so Ron Sparks had to debate himself," Side said.

"So through the whole thing, Ron is debating himself and then running across the stage. He would give these pointed questions that were very long and then run across the stage [to] the other lectern, and then give a one word answer. And then run back."

"And I had to stop him from doing that because I literally thought he was gonna have a heart attack!" said Patterson.

There have been epic battles, often over things no one thought would become so meaningful -- like when Eric Peterson and Sean Cullen debated whether William Shatner was the greatest actor of all time.

"It felt like we had really discovered a national nerve with that one... It just kind of lifted off. And then it just kept going and going," said Side.

"And there's no way to stop Eric Peterson, that's for sure. If he wants to answer one question that should be one word in a full Shakespearean monologue, let him go," added Patterson.

This season promises the return of some fan favourite comedians and many special topics waiting for their debut.

"I feel very lucky actually that that it's still going strong," said Side. 'Kudos to the successive groups of teams and CBC people who've kept it going all these years."