Summary
A comedy show starring unlikely pairKristen WiigandTobey Maguirefrom 10 years ago seems too wild to be real. Kristen Wiig was a regular onSaturday Night Livefor seven seasons, featuring in some of thebestSNLskits. The actor brought her impressive comedy chops to theFunny or Dieminiseries that premiered on IFC. The series is reminiscent of IFC’s other satirical series, which have traditionally stacked their casts withSNLstand-outs who play out dramatic television concepts to mock them, leaning into overly played-out television tropes. Still, Wiig and Maguire’s performances stand out.
The series' intentional absurdity garnered an 81 percentRotten Tomatoesscore. It skillfully employs serious actors to commit to the series' underlying bit. The series proves that, despite its satire, it earnestly plays its role as a drama. Along with other A-listers, the IFC miniseries features actors like Tobey Maguire, known for more serious roles.Tobey Maguire’s performanceopposite Wiig provided the dramatic chops needed to drive the series' premise – that it is a comedy masked as a drama. His chemistry with Wiig exaggerates the outlandish premise since Wiig and Maguire’s characters are siblings.
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While the best mockumentary TV comedy series owe a lot to The Office’s success, there are other shows made in the style that are worth the watch, too.
The Spoils Of Babylon Was A Hilarious Spoof On “TV Events”
IFC Launched The Comedy Miniseries In 2014
The Spoils of Babylonminiseries wasKristen Wiig and Tobey Maguire’s spoof comedy show released on IFCin 2014. The series was a spoof on an epic-scale"TV events"series. The spoof models real series based on bestselling novels, which were popular on American television in the 1970s and ’80s. The Eric Jonrosh character,played by Will Ferrell, is the author of the fictional best-selling novel from which the television series was adapted. Ferrell opens all six episodes ofThe Spoils of Babylonas Eric Jonrosh, who also serves as the producer for his adapted series.
The Spoils ofBabylonis based on other “TV events” projects based on literary works, such asShogunandRich Man, Poor Man.
The IFC miniseries followed Kristen Wiig as actor Lauoreighiya Samcake, who plays Cynthia Morehouse in Eric Jonrosh’s adapted novel series. In the lore of the series, Lauoreighiya Samcake is Jonrosh’s ex-wife. Likewise, Tobey Maguire plays fictional actor Dirk Snowfield, who plays Devon Morehouse, Cynthia’s brother in the series. As such,Kristen Wiig and Tobey Maguire portray adopted siblingswho made their fortune in the oil business, and their bizarre love affair drives the genre-intensive plot. The entire miniseries is presented as real, with Eric Jonrosh remarking that the series was originally 22 hours long.
Tobey Maguire & Kristen Wiig’s The Spoils Of Babylon Also Includes An Impressive Cast
IFC Stacked The Spoils Of Babylon’s Cast With A-List SNL Stars And Actors
The stellar cast ofThe Spoils of Babylonwas just as mind-blowing as its premise. OtherSaturday Night Livegreats appeared alongside Kristen Wiig, with Molly Shannon and David Spade featuring in two episodes and Will Ferrell narrating the miniseries as Eric Jonrosh. Ferrell’s Eric Jonrosh opens and closes each episode of the fictionalThe Spoils of Babylonfrom a restaurant. The cast also featured Haley Joel Osment ofArtificial Intelligence,Jessica Alba ofFantastic Four,andTop Gunveterans Tim Robbins and Val Kilmer. Steve Tom, Carey Mulligan, and Michael Sheen filled out the cast.
The cast was a confounding mix of A-list comedians and highly respected actors. As such, the impressive cast helped drive the series' elemental duality between bizarre comedy and a tale that is, in tone and form, severe and dramatic. The series strikes a similar casting blend toDocumentary Now,which had an ensemble comprising manySNLgreats from the 2010s but also featured Helen Mirren as its narrator. With its blended cast suited for comedy, action, and drama,The Spoils of Babylonsuccessfully took itself all too seriously, adding to the show’s wild and intentionally unbelievable premise.
The Spoils Of Babylon Spawned A Spinoff In 2015
Kristen Wiig And Will Ferrell Returned To IFC
The 2014 miniseries spawnedThe Spoils Before Dyingin 2015. Kristen Wiig returned to star in the series, and Will Ferrell returned as Eric Jonrosh, the fictional author ofThe Spoils of Babylon.Eric Jonrosh returned to the screen with another TV series he adapted from one of his novels,The Spoils Before Dying.The comedy miniseries from IFC and Funny or Die lasted for two seasons and focused on a 1950s jazz pianist and detective portrayed by Michael Kenneth Williams.The Spoils Before Dyingwas delivered with the same sensationalized premise, welcoming actors like Maya Rudolf and Kate McKinnon.
StreamThe Spoils of BabylonandThe Spoils Before Dyingfor free on The Roku Channel.
Ultimately,The Spoils of BabylonandThe Spoils Before Dyingwere great precursors to IFC’sDocumentary Nowseriesstarring Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. The network released the mockumentary comedy series the same year asThe Spoils of Babylon’s spinoff.Documentary Nowhas four seasons, with several years between seasons 3 and 4, which received a 100 %Rotten Tomatoesscore, respectively.Kristen WiigandTobey Maguire’sThe Spoils of Babylonmay have only lasted for one season, but it laid the groundwork for IFC’s mockumentary comedy style to live on.
Kristen Wiig
Tobey Maguire
Discover the latest news and filmography for Tobey Maguire, known for Spider-Man and The Great Gatsby.
