How weird is it that 2016 is a year in which Jean-Claude Van Damme will be in a Kickboxer sequel and a TV pilot that might very well become a full-blown series? About as weird as anything else Van Damme has done, I suppose. In any case, that TV project is a comedy called Jean-Claude Van Johnson, and the first trailer for it dropped today. Watch in wonderment at one of the most athletic actors of our day selecting some Pop Tarts.
I pretty much love everything about this, even if it only hints at the tone of the show rather than the plot specifics. But that's fine, because the concept is pretty solid. In Jean-Claude Van Johnson, the martial arts star plays a modified version of himself who is not only a globally known action star, but also a contract killer for hire. "Johnson" is his call name, or was, before he retired. You know how it goes, though. He has to go back into the fold one more time after meeting up with a lost love, and it's up in the air if he's still as deadly as he once was.
The trailer above, I assume, is showing us what life is like for Van Someone after he decided to become "just an actor." He watches himself getting older in the mirror while his pristine past is captured in eternal form behind him. He uses his own branded bathroom products. He celebrates the lives of his dogs. He gets the paper...in the laziest way possible. (I laughed quite loud when the grabbing tool dropped down.)
But of course, the crown jewel of this promo is discovering just how much Van Damme loves him some Pop Tarts. Not only does he keep his cabinets filled to capacity - another great mini-moment is when he initially chooses one box and picks the identical one next to it instead - but he also watches it as it warms, acting bored, but you know he could just stand up and look at something else if he really wanted to.
Jean-Claude Van Johnson is currently available for everyone, not just Amazon Prime subscribers, to watch on Amazon, along with the pilot for the new version of The Tick. Don't forget to vote for them if you like them, to try and ensure they get full series orders at some point soon.
