For everyone out there who needs a hunk-a hunk-a burning comedy — I’m not sure why it’s burning, either, but it does stink — look no further than what I can only assume will be the greatest TV show to ever exist. At least of the ones that are named Agent Elvis. That’s right, we now have our first full look at Matthew McConaughey’s arrival as the most lethal version of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll since Bubba Ho-Tep, and will soothe our dapper spy thirst while awaiting news about a new James Bond casting.
As seen in the trailer above, everyone with a Netflix subscription will be in for a night’s stay at not “Heartbreak Hotel,” but Hilarity Hotel, with the True Detective vet at the head of his second TV show, albeit in animated form. And the jokes are clearly better than whatever I just said, which I’ve already forgotten in lieu of remembering how awesome it’ll be to see Elvis Presley going ham on his enemies with a hatchet.
Easily enough to believe, Agent Elvis relies on the A+ high concept pitch of "What if Elvis, but also secret agent?" and was co-created by none other than Priscilla Presley herself, along with famed rock star John Eddie. Both are also executive producers, with Eddie serving as co-showrunner alongside Mike Arnold, best known as a writer on FX's not-so-secret spy comedy Archer.
Even if Matthew McConaughey's take on the rhinestone-friendly legend wasn't enough of a blue suede draw — I'll shoehorn in whatever song title comes to (suspicious) mind, thank you very much — Agent Elvis boasts an all-star voice cast that stacks up with anything else on TV right now, and easily rivals that of the aforementioned Archer's consistently perfect ensemble. Here's the core squad accompanying Matthew McConaughey:
- Kaitlin Olson
- Johnny Knoxville
- Niecy Nash
- Tom Kenny
- Don Cheadle
And then here's a list of guest stars that'll only make things more fun and bonkers throughout the ten-episode season.
- Kieran Culkin
- Ed Helms
- Jason Mantzoukas
- Simon Pegg
- Tara Strong
- Christina Hendricks
- Fred Armisen
- Gary Gole
- George Clinton
- Tony Cavalero
- Chris Elliot
- Asif Ali
- Ego Nwodim
- Craig Robinson
- Priscilla Presley
It sadly doesn't appear that we'll get to hear from any former James Bond actors themselves within Agent Elvis, nor from former Elvis actor Austin Butler, who can't seem to drop the voice, or Nicolas Cage. (Honeymoon in Vegas counts.) But that's fine. There's really only room for one womanizing, vice-welcoming badass in this show, and that's alright, alright, alright by me. Probably worth noting here that Daniel Craig nearly appeared on Archer, but it didn't happen due to Bond scheduling.
We even get to hear some voice work from Priscilla Presley, whose comedy expertise was cemented in fully by her work in the Naked Gun franchise. An icon in her own right, she's had a rough time in 2023 so far, with the death of Lisa Marie Presley and other issues. So here's hoping the upcoming release of Agent Elvis and the fanfare surrounding it can be a boon of positivity.
While animation studios don't often get any trailer attention, Agent Elvis made sure to point out that this was brought to the screen by Sony Pictures Animation, hilariously citing its work on the Spider-Verse films to show off what fans can expect. And I'll definitely agree with anyone who thinks the show looks awesome, aesthetic-wise, with more than enough examples of expertly animated buffoonery from the King.
The trailer revealed that Agent Elvis will make its debut on Friday, March 17, so we don’t have long at all to wait to hear Matthew McConaughey’s signature Southern drawl setting all our souls on fire. Viva Las Netflix!
