Will Forte will revive his bumbling action hero MacGruber for a new series set to premiere on Peacock in 2021.
The show will be adapted from the 2010 MacGruber film, which in turn was spun-off from a series of sketches Forte starred in during his Saturday Night Live tenure. The central bit is that MacGruber — like his semi-namesake, MacGyver — is capable of using quick-thinking and random items around him to get out of any sticky situation. Although in MacGruber’s case, things tend to end in giant explosions more often than great successes.
The first teaser for the series opens with a goofy montage of stock footage and a narrator melodramatically recounting how God created the universe in six days, rested on the seventh, then woke up from his nap on the eighth to make “what most agree is his finest creation yet.” Cut to a montage of action-packed MacGruber clips — most of which seem to be from the 2010 movie — followed by a new shot of MacGruber standing on a beachside cliff, taking off his sunglasses and telling the camera, “Spread the word, you freaking turds.”
NBCUniversal announced Forte was developing the MacGruber series back in January alongside Jorma Taccone and John Solomon, with whom he created the SNL sketch and wrote the movie (Taccone also directed the film). Back then, the show’s log-line stated the series would find MacGruber emerging from prison after 10 years, then embarking on a mission to take down an old foe, Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth. “With the entire world in the crosshairs, MacGruber Vicki, and Piper must race against time to defeat the forces of evil, only to find that evil may be lurking within,” the log-line read.
While Forte is confirmed to reprise his role, it’s unclear what the rest of the cast will look like. In the film and sketches, Kristen Wiig played MacGruber’s assistant/love interest Vicki, while Ryan Phillippe was cast as Lt. Dixon Piper in the movie.
From Rolling Stone US
