The legendary MacGruber. Former Navy SEAL, Army Ranger and Green Beret. Served six tours in Desert Storm, four in Bosnia, three each in Angola, Somalia, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone. Recipient of sixteen Purple Hearts, three Congressional Medals of Honor, seven Presidential Medals of Bravery and starting tight end for the University of Texas, El Paso. And now, despite having a box office bomb under his belt, he’s been picked up for a brand new TV show to continue his legacy.
Announced today, NBC has boldly stated that they’re reviving the MacGruber brand and will be making a new series based on the continuing exploits of the world’s best improv solider for their upcoming streaming service, Peacock. Obviously, Will Forte will be back to star as the titular hero, alongside picking up writing and executive producing duties. And Jorma Taccone, one-third of The Lonely Island and director of the MacGruber film from 2010, will helm, co-write and co-produce the whole dang thing.
This is kind of surprising, to be honest, but definitely exciting news. After all, I absolutely adore Will Forte, and I had a good enough time with his Last Man on Earth show for, like, two seasons. I’m also a huge Hot Rod stan, as I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard at an original Hollywood comedy the first time I saw it. At least they’re going to keep the premise and, uh, lore consistent, too, with our hero having been rotting in jail for the last decade.
Granted, they’re most likely going to be recasting Kristen Wiig’s character, since I doubt she’ll return to TV anytime soon. Remember when she was going be the big breakout of the SNL 2010s crew? Man, how time flies. I hope Wonder Woman 1984 is good, specifically for her sake, since she’s Cheetah and not exactly known for being evil.
But I digress. I’m just glad that cult hits from decades ago (and MacGruber is the definition of cult hit) are getting follow-ups with the actual people involved. Now, if only they’d leave Half Baked alone.
