Steph Curry officially became a sitcom star earlier in the 2024 TV schedule alongside Adam Pally with Mr. Throwback, which came to streaming just after Curry and the rest of Team USA won the gold medal in basketball at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The executive producers opened up at the time about their hopes for a second season, but Peacock has not yet renewed or cancelled the mockumentary at the time of writing.
It may be a good sign that the series premiere aired on NBC following America's Got Talent's Season 19 semifinals on September 12, though, complete with Steph Curry promos that aired during the AGT broadcast to encourage people to stick around for the next time slot. Rewatching it really reminded me of what the EPs previously told CinemaBlend in August about the best way to watch the show.
Rewatching The Series Premiere Of Mr. Throwback
I won't get into spoilers beyond the series premiere for any readers who might have only watched the first episode in its NBC broadcast, but Mr. Throwback consists of six episodes. In the premiere, viewers are introduced to a fictionalized version of Steph Curry (played by the NBA legend himself) and his childhood teammate Danny (Adam Pally). Danny is severely in debt, and his attempt to steal Curry's jersey to sell goes sideways when he's caught by Steph and his right-hand woman Kimberly Gregg (SNL's Ego Nwodim).
The scam snowballed until he concocted a tale about his perfectly healthy daughter dying of a mystery disease, prompting Steph to suggest setting up a charity basketball game to raise money for young Charlie (Layla Scalisi), with some resistance from Danny's ex-wife Sam (Ayden Mayeri).
I'd originally binged my way through Mr. Throwback ahead of an interview with executive producers and longtime collaborators David Caspe, Matthew Libman, and Daniel Libman. Despite not being a Golden State Warriors fan and as somebody whose previous experience watching Steph Curry on TV generally consisted of rooting against him in his games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, I had a lot of fun with the series starting with the very first episode. Curry doesn't take himself too seriously, and the EPs described working with him as a "dream come true."
And rewatching the first episode on NBC put me in the mood to revisit the rest of the first season, which isn't too hard to do if you have access to Peacock's streaming originals. All in all, I was reminded of what the bosses said in our interview about the best way to watch the show... and why it was a better fit for streaming than broadcast TV from start to finish.
The Best Way To Watch Mr. Throwback, According To The EPs
David Caspe and the Libman brothers had collaborated on a number of different comedies prior to Mr. Throwback, notably including Happy Endings (which made CinemaBlend's ranking of the 100 best sitcoms of all time) and Champaign ILL that both featured Adam Pally. With Mr. Throwback produced to release streaming for viewers with Peacock Premium subscriptions, Daniel Libman explained why the new mockumentary was a better fit for a streamer than broadcast network:
I think the type of storytelling that we were able to do is basically tell this serialized story, this six-part story, essentially like a long movie. We think that's more conducive for streaming and just able to take those sort of storytelling detours that normally maybe wouldn't be conducive for broadcast, or the type of things that people are used to on broadcast. They're more used to [them] on streaming with dramas and the advent of bingeable television. So it felt like that really lent itself to the premise of this show, and and allowed us to make good on the premise.
The full run of six episodes released all at once back in August, so viewers could view Mr. Throwback from start to finish on premiere day. The premiere more recently airing on NBC could be a solid hook to recruit people who usually watch network TV to check out Peacock for the remaining five episodes. When I asked the three executive producers if they considered the comedy a good fit for binge-watching, they shared:
- Matthew Libman: "It's the best show that's ever been created. It's the best show for bingeing that's ever been bingeable."
- David Caspe: "And non-bingeing."
- Daniel Libman: "Honestly, if you're someone who likes to take a break –
- Matthew Libman: "Take five minutes in between."
- Daniel Libman: "If you have someone that has a lot of self control, say wants to watch it over many months, I wouldn't do that. I would finish it and then go back."
You don't have to squint too hard to read between the lines that the EPs were – and presumably still are – hoping for the numbers on Peacock for a Season 2 renewal, but as somebody who did binge-watch the show, I can vouch for their arguments that it's a great show to view in that way. Of course, as comedy writers and creators, they brought some humor as they continued:
- Matthew Libman: "Binge it immediately and then watch it. And then also, if you have other devices that you can just put it on, even if you're not in the room, just let it play."
- David Caspe: "And if you have access to email, I think you email the binge service, the streamer. Telling them how much you enjoyed bingeing would be good too."
- Matthew Libman: "Or write to your congressman and say 'We demand more episodes.'"
All in all, Mr. Throwback is a solid example of why Peacock has become a great home for comedies; now it just remains to be seen if enough people have streamed the series for a return for Season 2. I have to imagine that airing an episode on NBC after a show as popular as America's Got Talent can only help expand the audience. At the very least, it suggests to me that nobody has given up on the series having a future.
If you want to watch Mr. Throwback for the first time or just follow the EPs' suggestions about playing episodes whether you're watching or not, you can find the full first season streaming on Peacock now.
