The Pitch: NASA’s astronauts are the best of the best, lifelong professionals who dedicate their intellect and resolve to boldly going where no man has gone before. Before they can do that, though, they have to go through extensive training in the Arizona desert, simulating life on the moon in all its isolation and resource scarcity. For Cap (John C. Reilly), Rook (Tim Heidecker), and Skip (Fred Armisen), it’s a responsibility they take with the utmost seriousness; unfortunately, they might not be the best people for the job. The Wrong Stuff: Space-themed comedies are all the rage this year, between HBO’s droll Avenue 5 and Netflix’s execrable Space Force. Moonbase 8 sits somewhere between these two on the scale, funnier than the latter and less incisive than the f...
Consequence of Sound and The Modern School of Film are proud to announce Assembly is back for a second season. On November 10th, host Robert Milazzo’s documentary podcast series will go behind the scenes with comic David Cross. Recorded in 2019, Milazzo follows Cross as he shapes his new stand-up act through a set of intimate gigs in Brooklyn, New York. Along the way, long-time collaborators, friends, and family all lend their perspectives on Cross’ life and work. No kidding. Milazzo has assembled one star-studded supporting cast. Along for the ride are Amber Tamblyn, Bob Odenkirk, H. Jon Benjamin, Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Sam Seder, and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. “David was part of just about every great memory of comedy I have,” Garofalo says. “Assembly ...
What was big, exciting entertainment news just a month or so ago has already become routine tedium: Jim Carrey played presidential candidate Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live. For the third week in a row, the blockbuster comic returned to Studio 8H, where Issa-Rae hosted the festivities. Three sketches into his run, however, and it’s hard to find anyone who appears to be enjoying his antics. (Then again, social media presents a comically skewed demographic of people who more or less despise Saturday Night Live, but feel compelled to provide running commentary anyway. Come to think of it, that’s likely how a lot of SNL writers probably feel about the presidential election.) This week’s endless cold open–under 15 minutes, but, as with last week’s, feeling closer to a full hour–toggled between...
This past weekend marked the 58th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s famous Moon Speech, given in Houston to promote America’s Apollo program to put a man on the moon. To coincide with the occasion, Showtime has released the first teaser for its space-themed comedy series Moonbase 8, starring John C. Reilly, Tim Heidecker, and Fred Armisen. Due to premiere sometime this fall, the TV show follows three subpar astronauts who live and train at NASA’s Moon Base Simulator in Arizona. The goal is to one day qualify for a lunar mission, but their lack of expertise proves to be more than just a minor hurdle. Today’s teaser trailer shows us some of the basic exercises and tasks assigned to this goofy trio — and how they’re all so easily botched. Let’s just say JFK probably wouldn’t wan...
It’s hard to think of a performer who has aged more gracefully than Kyle MacLachlan. At 61, he’s still got that matinee-idol chin, full, robust head of hair, and the good-natured warmth to go along with it. Yet beneath the leading-man looks beats the heart of a considered, compelling character actor, a sensibility he’s brought to decades of beautifully idiosyncratic work in successes and flops alike. Even when he’s villainous, it’s impossible not to love him. (Except when he’s Mr. C in Twin Peaks: The Return, of course.) That kind of cerebral deadpan is key to his career-long collaboration with fellow Northwestern boy David Lynch, who plucked him from obscurity to star in his sprawling adaptation of Dune, whose disastrous reception nonetheless prepared him to become Lynch’s muse for Blue V...
Three heavenly bodies have appeared on the horizon: John C. Reilly, Tim Heidecker, and Fred Armisen are banding together to write, produce, and star in the new series Moonbase 8. The out-of-this-world comedy will crash land on Showtime in the fall. The show has been described in a statement as “a workplace comedy that follows three subpar astronauts living at NASA’s Moon Base Simulator with high hopes of being chosen to travel to the moon.” The series is a co-production of A24 and Heidecker’s Abso Lutely Productions, with Jonathan Krisel serving as co-creator, director, and writer. Krisel is no stranger to the starry cast: he worked with Heidecker on Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, with Reilly on Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, and with Armisen on Portlandia. Fo...
As promised, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross reunited on Wednesday night for the Mr. Show Zoomtacular Annual Business Call Event for Charity. In addition to raising funds and eliciting some good ol’ fashioned yucks, the two strung together what has to be the most star-studded rendition of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Michael Jackson parody “Eat It”. Joining the two co-stars in the unexpected sing-along were Bryan Cranston, Sarah Silverman, a very bearded Jack Black, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, Al Franken, Paul Scheer, Heidi Gardner, Rachel Bloom, Alison Pill, Amber Tamblyn, John Hodgman, Tony Hale, and Odenkirk’s Better Call Saul co-stars in Rhea Seehorn, Michael McKean, and Michael Mando. Of course, the legend himself “Weird Al” also tagged along. Dubbed “We’re All In This Together”...
Who said good things can’t come from celebrities joining together in song? During the Mr. Show Zoomtacular Annual Business Call Event for Charity, a bunch of comedians and actors covered “Weird Al” Yankovic’s breakthrough hit “Eat It,” which, duh, spoofed Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Participants included Mr. Show’s David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (and his Better Call Saul co-stars Rhea Seehorn, Michael McKean, and Michael Mando), Bryan Cranston, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, Heid Gardner, Jack Black, Paul Scheer, and former Sen. Al Franken among many, many more. Of course, Yankovic was thrilled with what he saw from the clip, which was titled “We’re All in This Together.” He appeared in it as well. “Truly there’s no problem that can’t be overcome when you get a bunch of ...