Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone – Picture: Getty Images
Netflix’s rich comedy library will soon add one more to its fold as Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy are developing God’s Favorite Idiot. Both are set to star and executive produce the workplace comedy, while Falcone penned the script for the series. Here’s everything we know so far about God’s Favorite Idiot season 1 which looks to have been cut short.
A real-life couple, Falcone and McCarthy have worked on numerous projects together, such as Bridesmaids, Tammy, Superintelligence, and The Boss. The pair has also recently released their Netflix movie Thunder Force which also stars McCarthy.
God’s Favorite Idiot will be directed by Michael McDonald who collaborated with McCarthy and Falcone on such productions as The Boss, Nobodies, Spy, The Heat, and more. The series will come from Falcone’s and McCarthy’s production company On The Day, which worked on such projects as The Boss, Tammy, and Superintelligence.
Stars and producers Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy with director Michael McDonald. Photo Credit: Tara Mays
What’s the plot of God’s Favorite Idiot?
Netflix’s God’s Favorite Idiot is described as a ‘workplace comedy’ with all of its cast being coworkers within one company. The series is believed to mix comedy, casual workplace humor, biblical imagery, and fantasy elements. Unfortunately, no other plot details are known for the comedy series aside from the official synopsis:
Mid level Tech support employee Clark Thompson (Falcone) finds love with co- worker Amily Luck (McCarthy) at exactly the same time he becomes the unwitting messenger of God. Also, there’s roller skating, a lake of fire and an impending apocalypse.
Who is cast in God’s Favorite Idiot?
As mentioned above, the two main leads for God’s Favorite Idiot are Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. Falcone is set to play tech support employee Clark Thompson who falls in love with his co-worker, McCarthy’s Amily Luck. They will be joined by Yanic Truesdale (Gilmore Girls), Usman Ally (68 Whiskey), Ana Scotney (Educators), Chris Sandiford (What We Do in the Shadows) and Steve Mallory (The Boss). All will be playing Amily and Clark’s coworkers.
Here are the character descriptions of the supporting cast via Deadline. Sadly, such descriptions for the main duo are missing.
Ana Scotney will play Wendy. In a nutshell, Wendy is a giver – of presents, advice, and anything she thinks might help another person. And while her attempts at consoling others often miss their mark, the group relies on Wendy’s empathy to guide them down the righteous path.
Chris Sandiford plays Tom. Tom is Arresta Tech’s resident insecure loudmouth. Tom is as fiercely loyal as he is irritating, and exactly the kind of brave and unwavering friend that every divine quest requires.
Usman Ally will be Mohsin Raza. Mohsin has chosen a life of integrity over financial success or a leadership position. When Clark pulls his friends into a celestial battle, Mohsin has to tap into his true potential to save not only his friends, but the world.
Steve Mallory will portray Frisbee. Frisbee is a low-level, middle manager. His total lack of authority does not dilute his devotion to the pecking order and platitudes of modern office life. For Frisbee, “working hard or hardly working” is worthy of true reflection.
Meanwhile, away from the office Yanic Truesdale plays Chamuel. Chamuel is the new guy in town. Actually, he’s the new divine lower-ranking archangel in town, and if there wasn’t a cataclysmic conflict tearing heaven and earth asunder, he’d try the nachos at that mall kiosk.
How many episodes and seasons will God’s Favorite Idiot have?
Netflix commissioned 16 episodes for God’s Favorite Idiot, but it was originally unclear how they are planning to release them.
They could shoot and release all 16 episodes at once, but we are betting the first 8 episodes would make season 1, and the rest would be season 2 of this series.
However, all of that is up in the air. As we’ll cover more in-depth in just a second, The Guardian reports that the series has only filmed the first eight episodes with no word on whether they’ll return to film the remaining eight.
What’s the production status of God’s Favorite Idiot?
The series is filming in New South Wales, Australia specifically Byron Bay. It’s been projected that the production will employ 300 Australians and inject $74 million into the Australian economy.
In a statement to NSW Government, Falcone and McCarthy said:
“To have the opportunity to safely film our show in a beautiful country like Australia is a dream come true. We love this country, and the talented people who live and work here. A special thank you to Chris, Luke, and Liam Hemsworth for volunteering to carry us to and from work with their wonderful powerful arms.”
Production on the show got reportedly underway in March 2021 and was scheduled to wrap up in November 2021.
DailyMail managed to report on some of the filming on April 20th, 2021 publishing a few behind-the-scenes snaps of McCarthy on set.
However, it was in June 2021 when the aforementioned Guardian article reported that Netflix and the team had pulled out of the Netflix series who reports that they only got halfway through filming before filming has now finished.
The exact reasons as to why all this has happened are yet to be reported. Money is likely high up on the reasons as to why production has been halted given the sizeable grant Netflix was going to receive for the production.
It’s not the only production in Australia causing headaches for Netflix either. Protests have been taking place continuously since Netflix announced its new reality series Byron Baes. Whether any of these protests in Byron-Bay (where God’s Favorite Idiot is shot) has had any effect on the production halt isn’t known.
When will God’s Favorite Idiot be released on Netflix?
Considering a likely 2021 production start, it is safe to assume that the new comedy series will premiere on Netflix sometime in 2022. But with the show seemingly halfway done, everything is seemingly up in the air.
Are you looking forward to God’s Favorite Idiot on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.