The team behind Wet Hot American Summer, both the original film and the current Netflix follow-ups, has always been invested in creating zeitgest-dodging comedies that amass obsessive cult audiences. (See: everything from sketch series The State to Wainy Days to We Came Together, etc.) Get ready for more silly premises and absurd humor, as TBS has gone into development on a new project from David Wain, Jonathan Stern and Michael Showalter, with the latter's frequent collaborator Michael Ian Black set to star. It's called Moon Cruise.
Yes, that title is of the literal sort, and isn't about someone who likes to go out for night-time drives. Details at this point are pretty slight, but the going mash-up description for Moon Cruise is "The Love Boat but set in space," according to THR. Michael Ian Black has been playing genial characters for years, sometimes in a hosting capacity, so he would be perfect as a modern version of Ted Lange's fun-loving bartender Isaac, though that's assuming such a comparison even fits. I cannot imagine that this group's version of The Love Boat (or outer space) will be easy to pin down.
Moon Cruise is actually a concept that was created by Michael Ian Black, and he'll be part of the executive producer team alongside Michael Showalter, David Wain and Jonathan Stern. Black will also, of course, be the show's star. If he is also the one writing, I can't imagine he won't get any input from the others in the joke-forming process. Should the comedy more on to the pilot stage and/or beyond, don't be surprised if Wain is the one stepping behind the camera to direct, as he's done across many of the projects these comedians team up for. (Stella!)
Michael Ian Black, who often jokes about how many cancelled TV shows he's been a part of in his career, did indeed see one of his most current shows come to an end in 2016, when comedian Jim Gaffigan chose not to move forward with another season of TV Land's The Jim Gaffigan Show, on which Black was a co-star. Black is also part of the ridiculous ensemble of Comedy Central's Another Period, and appeared on an episode of Inside Amy Schumer earlier this year. Outside of television work, Black also had a role in the feature Folk Hero & Funny Guy, released a hilarious stand-up album/special called Noted Expert (which you can watch on Hulu) and both a new book of essays, titled Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine (but also my mom's, which I know sounds weird) and a new children's book called A Child's First Book of Trump. Such a busy guy, and now he wants to go to space!
If Moon Cruise gets out of the stratosphere, it'll be Michael Showalter's second concurrent project on TBS. Along with Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogets, he created the now-airing Search Party, which centers on Alia Shawkat as a mentally in-flux woman who dedicates her life to tracking down a college acquaintance who went missing. That show's mystery and drama elements are quite unlike other entries in Showalter's filmography, especially stuff like Michael and MIchael Have Issues and other projects with Michael Ian Black. Hopefully this show will feature similar unexpected genre digressions.
While there's no telling when Moon Cruise will get any more news, we can look forward to watching Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain when Netflix premieres the star-studded sequel series Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later in 2017. In the meantime, check out our midseason TV schedule to see what's coming to the small screen in the near future.
