The new NBC streaming platform Peacock TV has announced the development of new spin-off series surrounding the Saturday Night Live character MacGruber who is portrayed by Will Forte (The Last Man of Earth, That ‘70s Show), according to TV Guide. The sketch comedy series on NBC featured Forte in various skits as MacGruber, a bumbling individual posed as a secret agent as a parody to MacGyver, in addition to providing many impressions of Brian Williams, President George W. Bush, and many more. The spin-off series starring Forte’s character will be titled as the character’s name and Peacock and NBC have provided that the first season will consist of 8 episodes.
Beginning in 2007, Forte portrayed the sketch character MacGruber on SNL as a parody of MacGyver, a 1980s action series. Following the success of the sketch comedy, Forte and his character followed similar steps as Mike Myers’ (Austin Powers) character Wayne Campbell and Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan’s Roxbury Guys in the transition to a feature film. MacGruber premiered in theaters in 2010 and starred Forte, Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), and Val Kilmer (Heat). The feature-length film was critically panned by many despite the past success of the character. Despite this, Forte’s film gained a cult following by many comedy fans.
The upcoming spin-off series will be executive produced by Jorma Taccone (Hot Rod) and John Solomon (The Last Man on Earth), Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live), Erin David (Hot Rod), Andrew Singer (Documentary Now!), and John Goldwyn (Dexter). Additionally, Forte will be joining the writer’s room while also executive producing in addition to Taccone directing the upcoming streaming series. Currently, there is no announced cast nor expected premiere date for the Peacock original.