A new mockumentary is coming to the 2024 TV schedule with Mr. Throwback streaming on Peacock, but this is no typical sitcom. None other than Steph Curry stars opposite Happy Endings alum Adam Pally, and the NBA legend had to prove whether or not he could perform as well in a TV show as on the basketball court. Fortunately, the executive producers – who are longtime sitcom veterans themselves – spoke with CinemaBlend about working with Curry, and they had some high praise for the athlete-turned-actor playing a fictionalized version of himself.
Mr. Throwback centers on Danny (Adam Pally), an out-of-luck memorabilia dealer whose fortunes could turn around with the help of a middle school teammate. That teammate? None other than Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry. It's clear from the trailer with Curry explaining that he and Danny were the "Splash Siblings" back in the day that the NBA player is rising to comedy in a way that wasn't quite necessary with his miniature golf show. You don't even need to be a Warriors (or basketball) fan to enjoy it!
I spoke with writers, executive producers, and longtime collaborators David Caspe, Matthew Libman, and Daniel Libman ahead of Mr. Throwback's premiere about one big question: what was it like to work with Steph Curry as an actor when everybody knows him as a basketball star? Daniel Libman, who came to Mr. Throwback with credits in recent years on shows like How I Met Your Father, Champaign ILL, and Kenan, shared:
A total dream. The guy is as wonderful and as prepared as an actor and a comedian as he is as a basketball player. It was truly a dream come true. He was so generous with his time, and so just down to dig into the material and be one of the cast. It was as great of a situation as you could possibly imagine for us as showrunners.
It's not every day that a professional athlete becomes an actor, and Mr. Throwback certainly goes in a different direction with Steph Curry than Space Jam and LeBron James. Matthew Libman, who has worked with his brother on their various comedy projects also including The Mick and Solar Opposites, elaborated:
It was no different than writing for any actor. We didn't have to change anything or temper anything to fit Steph because of any limitations. Quite the opposite! We ended up writing just like we would for any comedic actor, because he was so good so quickly. It was great. Honestly, running in and giving him notes, you forgot that he was a legendary basketball player, because he would just take your notes and do them perfectly, just like the most skilled actor on our set.
That's definitely a compliment, considering that he worked alongside actors like sitcom veteran Adam Pally and Saturday Night Live star Ego Nwodim. When I noted to the EPs that comedy acting is apparently something to add to the list of what Steph Curry is good at, they jokingly responded:
- Daniel Libman: "That's exactly right."
- Matthew Libman: "It is annoying. It's just like ‘Enough! Enough already.’"
Viewers will be able to tune in to see Steph Curry playing a mockumentary version of himself when Mr. Throwback premieres for Peacock Premium subscribers on August 8. That said, if the whole premise and cast seems like an unlikely combination to become a TV show, David Caspe – who has also worked with the Libmans across television over the years of his career going back to Happy Endings – explained the new streaming series' origin:
My wife is an actress, and strangely, she was asked to do this game show that Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry, his wife, hosted called About Last Night that was a Dating Game-type show. My wife had me come on, and normally I shy from the camera, as I am shy of the camera, but I am such an enormous basketball fan and an enormous Stephen Curry fan that I had to do it. So we did it, and we hit it off with Stephen and Ayesha. And then on another episode of the show, our dear friend Adam Pally and his wife Daniella did that same game show, and also hit it off with Stephen and them.
As it turns out, the origin of Mr. Throwback goes back to the short-lived game show About Last Night, which ran for one season of eight episodes for Max subscribers in 2022. (Fun fact: Caspe and Pally also weren't the only Happy Endings alums to appear on the show, as Caspe's wife is none other than actress and SNL vet Casey Wilson.) Caspe went on to explain how they went from meeting the Currys for the game show to creating Mr. Throwback:
So then Stephen's head of production reached out to me and Adam about creating a show for Stephen to be in. We jumped at the chance and called the Libmans, who we do everything with, and the four of us sat down on Zoom and kind of threw around a few ideas. It was at the time of The Last Dance, and Daniel, to his credit, said, 'Is there a comedy version of The Last Dance?' And we went from there and landed where we landed, for better or worse.
While it's safe to say that any drama that goes down in the story of Mr. Throwback between Danny and Steph Curry won't carry over into real life like the feuds after The Last Dance, a comedy version of the popular sports docu-series is worth checking out, particularly as the 2024 Olympics in Paris wind down. Take a look at the trailer below:
All six episodes of Mr. Throwback will premiere on Peacock on Thursday, August 8. The mockumentary format is already popular for a reason, with shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation. Mr. Throwback is definitely its own series within that familiar format, though, and worth checking out.
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