Mike Myers Is Creating a New Comedy Series For Netflix
Netflix just announced, via press release, that it has ordered a new series from comedian and actor Mike Myers. The show, described as a “half-hour limited comedy series” will be produced by and star Myers, who will “play multiple characters” on the show.
Myers’ statement on the news:
I love creating characters, and Netflix has given me a fantastic playground to play in.
The release doesn’t specify if the show is sketch comedy, a la Myers’ roots on Saturday Night Live, or an episodic fictional series in which he simply plays multiple characters, a la his movies Austin Powers and So I Married An Axe Murderer. (I can already see the commercials screaming “Head! Netflix! Now!”)
Myers was once one of the most prolific and famous names in comedy. After a successful run on SNL he made one of the only hugely popular Saturday Night Live spinoff films with Wayne’s World (directed by Penelope Spheeris). After a sequel, he then launched the James Bond spoof franchise Austin Powers, which for a time became even more successful than the real Bond series. (Austin Powers in Goldmember grossed about $50 million more in U.S. theaters than Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day.) But after the critical and commercial flop The Love Guru, Myers’ output slowed to almost nothing beyond lending his voice to Shrek sequels and ancillary properties.
That was 2008. In recent years, Myers has moved towards a comeback. He hosted two seasons of a new version of The Gong Show (disguised as British comedian “Tommy Maitland”) and appeared in Bohemian Rhapsody as a cranky record executive. But this new show would be his most high-profile project in a very long time. Six episodes are expected; no release date has been announced as of yet.
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