NEW YORK – FXX's “The League” is currently in the middle of its sixth season, and like a running back in his prime, it shows no signs of slowing down. The show isn't just irreverent, it is regularly outright rude, and it is almost always funny.
The panel they offered today at New York Comic-Con then was just like the show itself. People who dared to ask questions were made fun of (in the nicest way possible), and the audience was primed for it all by first getting to see an upcoming episode.
After the screening, the Q&A began and present on the dais were stars Nick Kroll, Mark Duplass, Jon Lajoie, Paul Scheer, Katie Aselton, Stephen Rannazzisi, Jason Mantzoukas, and co-creators Jeff and Jackie Schaffer. For the next 30-plus minutes they offered up memories of the show to this point and hints about what is still to come.
Enough preamble, here's what we learned today at “The League” panel (a panel we may have left forever unclean):
A bear will appear in an upcoming episode
Amos the Bear will be on in a couple of weeks. Amos was a vegetarian and was separated from the cast by an electric fence. The bear did not like the shocks offered by the fence, which was why the cast wasn't attacked. Allegedly (and I'm going with this being a joke, but it might not be) the bear's handler only had 8.5 fingers.
Shiva put in a surprise appearance
Janina Gavankar appeared halfway through the panel and may have gotten the most applause. She, of course, is Shiva, the character who (not that she knew about it) offered her name for the league's trophy on the series. Shiva has, as with Rafi, become a fan favorite. A couple of Shiva blasts were offered up by the audience.
Jon Lajoie knows less about the NFL than Taco
That fact is impressive because Taco knows nothing about football. Apparently though the cast and producers have a fantasy football league, “The League of 'The League,'” and Lajoie regularly beats Rannazzisi, even though the latter was the most knowledgeable when the show began filming and the former still doesn't know anything about football. Mark Duplass won the whole thing last year.
Jenny is going full evil this year
In the first season of the series, Katie Aselton's character was present but wasn't in the league itself. Since then, she's become more and more involved in both the fantasy league and the surrounding shenanigans. As evidenced by last week's episode, she is getting down into the mud with the rest of the characters this season. That is a trend that will only progress as the season moves along.
Expect to see the Ray Rice incident on the show this year
They are still in the midst of shooting the current season and because of that they are able to touch on current goings-on with the league. Consequently, in an upcoming episode, Ray Rice's actions will be a topic in an upcoming episode. We will also see the Redskins' name come up.
The EBDB is coming back
Sure, Taco sold the EBDB to Mark Cuban but he kept the brick and mortar store (Taco not liking the whole online thing). He has some plans for it and we can definitely expect to see it return this year. There was no word as to whether or not Taco will ever cash the check from Cuban.
Stephen Rannazzisi actually uses that dog park
In one episode of “The League,” poor Kevin had to use a dog park as a bathroom after a Yobogoya meal. Rannazzisi told us that said dog park is the one he frequents in real life. He said it wasn't so bad filming the scene, but heading back to the park the next day with his dog was a little difficult.
All-in-all, the producers and cast kept the room laughing the entire time, with joke after joke. If anyone was in the room who doesn't regularly watch the show, they will almost certainly be tempted to tune in following that performance.