Part of TBS’ current comedy line-up, Wrecked takes the grandiosity of Lost and the absurdity of Gilligan’s Island, throws it all into a blender, and shoots out absolute nonsense, but in the best way possible. As Pilot Viruet wrote in their review of the first season, Wrecked is a show about “hopeless morons,” and somehow it works. Personally, the first season of Wrecked made it so I can never watch another hostage situation in a television show or movie without saying to myself, “Always shoot the hostage.” (That’s both: 1. How I know that television and movies have a lot of hostage situations and 2. How I know I might be a sociopath, considering I reflexively said that when there was an actual hostage situation in my neighborhood just a few weeks ago.)
But outside of that unintentional heartlessness is a funny show, and TBS decided to celebrate that and its sophomore season with a pop-up desert island in Marina Del Rey.
Unsurprisingly, the Wrecked cast is a crew of jokesters who apparently can’t stop loving each other. Also unsurprisingly — just like the Friends cast was always asked, “Are you all really friends?” — at this particular event (and from the very first moment they ever did press for this show), the Wrecked cast members became used to being asked hypotheticals about being stuck on a deserted island.
However, if you ask the same question enough times and in the right way, you get the real answer. Whether that be, “Yes, except for when it comes to Schwimmer” or near unanimous cast confirmation that Ally Maki is the cast member most likely to be cannibalized by her other cast mates. When tasked with the hypotheticals of which singular cast member to bring to a deserted island (and possibly cannibalize), Maki was often chosen as the easy target for such an act of self-preservation. For Will Greenberg, who plays her character Jess’ boyfriend Todd, he would “probably eat [her] out of spite” (to which Asif Ali agreed emphatically), while Zach Cregger chose her for the simple reason that he’s pretty sure he “can handle her in a fight.” Jessica Lowe simply told Maki that she’s sure she’d “be delicious.”
Brian Sacca, however, in an act of hypothetical selflessness, chose to kill himself to provide for his wrecked companion… but according to Lowe, Maki, and Brooke Dillman, that was all an act from him to look good in front of me. Some might even call that a classic Schwimmerism.
The first thing I noticed upon fully entering the “island” was a man in a coconut bra and hula skirt, riding a mechanical boar without a care in the world, basically living a life I would never know or understand. Said image was pretty much the beginning and end of my encounter with the mechanical boar, because, simply put, my momma didn’t raise no fool. In fact, I would probably fit in just perfectly in the world of Wrecked, as my greatest contribution to the group would probably be my ability to recite episodes of late ’90s/early 2000s WB series from memory. Come on, being on a deserted island can be boring; so what better way to keep the party going than to tell you all about the episode of Dawson’s Creek where the gang went to see No Doubt in concert? Considering the Wrecked cast members themselves referred to their characters as a group of “lazier, dumber Hurleys [from Lost],” I know I’m right about this.
Besides, who needs a mechanical boar (or decorations of a plastic, roasted boar) when real boars exist? That’s a question that was soon answered with the arrival of a baby boar (like the one that befriended Todd in the first season) in a small, enclosed pen. Now that? That was 100% more my speed. And while I didn’t make good on my immediate internal promise to myself to kidnap that boar and have it become best friends with my dog, please know that’s only because I couldn’t find an opening to do so. In my defense, Brooke Dillman (a big softie, unlike her Wrecked alter ego Karen) also had the same idea — though I’m not sure she had the dog BFF part of the plan in mind — and we were both aware we deserved pats on the back for not engaging in “criminal” behavior.
All the while, a TBS flag waved proudly in the center of the island, reminding us all who — besides the magical rum punch, which the cast got hooked on when they were filming in Fiji — was responsible for our enjoyment. In fact, an actual TBS Island would probably be pretty dope. Though I can say, without a doubt, I wouldn’t want to be stuck on an island with the Search Party characters. Great show but definitely one with the type of characters I’d either ditch in an instant or stay with and worry the most for my chances of survival.
Now as far as what to expect from this upcoming Wrecked season, each cast member had a different perspective on just how much crazier things will be. According to Will Greenberg, this second season of Wrecked will be “at least four times more [wrecked]” than the first. “It’s real madness,” added Asif Ali, as the Wrecked crew now has to deal with pirates (not saviors, like they assumed) and figuring out how to get out of that situation. “Pirates and guns and explosions.” And while Ali also promised “five to ten” shocking twists this season, Brian Sacca said there were actually only “two,” while Brooke Dillman went for broke with the promise of “37” shocking twists. So be on the lookout for at least two twists this season and nothing less.
But if there’s one thing the Wrecked cast could agree on, it was their legacy when compared to Lost. So when it came to the question of if season two would be the time when the show finally (“finally”) surpasses Lost, Greenberg had quite the answer: “We’ve already surpassed it last season. We’ve already surpassed Gilligan’s Island.” An understandable answer, given the unending comparisons — all earned but a little facetious at this point, no? Sacca was a little more realistic in his answer, saying that the show will “definitely…do things that the Lost crew never got to do.” That’s also understandable, given the complete differences in genre and tone. But Cregger went a step further and simply challenged any member of the Lost cast to a fight, so there’s always the possibility that said fight truly determines things in this imaginary competition.
Now going back to my lack of skills: that particular character trait showed up in one of the activities for this event. Instead of there being a need for WB show knowledge, the event featured a mountain climbing-type event in the form of fake palm trees on the “island”: two people race, possibly both embarrass themselves with their lack of upper body strength. Given my lack of any body strength, I chose to forgo that particular challenge and went with a true challenge instead — the time-honored island sport of Skeeball — one which I absolutely crushed and made sure to gloat way too much about. I then witnessed a hole in one in the very mini-golf set-up, but making a putt in one go is obviously easier than absolutely domination in Skeeball in however many rolls there are in that. Try getting a hole in one nine more times, then we’ll talk. As for the people who were able to climb up to the top of the palm trees, maybe don’t talk to the mini-golfers and Skeeballers — you clearly have proven you belong on Lost or The Challenge, not Wrecked.
Keeping with the theme of the makeshift Wrecked island though, there were of course destroyed plane parts all around the area and, even better, flight attendants who were… in attendance. Wrecked fans can probably imagine my disappointment in no pop-up proxy of Eliza Coupe’s flight attendant-turned-nutjob in sight, but I appreciated the effort.
By the end of the night, the rum punch had fully kicked in, and despite having a DJ all night long, it was last call that finally got the dance floor bumping. I remember being invited to the dance floor by Jessica Lowe, but it was a surprise Missi Pyle who forced me to dance, a memory I will keep with me forever, especially since the DJ knew her audience well for those final three songs: Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and more Whitney Houston with her cover of “I’m Every Woman.” It was the type of thing you might think to be a fever dream if you were actually stranded on a comic deserted island, and it was the perfect way to end the night.
Basically, if the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences wants to create a category for “Outstanding Promotional Tactic,” Wrecked‘s pop-up island would definitely be a strong contender, possibly even the frontrunner. And if not, TBS could always bribe Emmy voters with a baby boar. As far as I’m concerned, you could bribe anyone with a baby boar.
An all new episode of Wrecked tonight at 10:30/9:30c on TBS. You can see how it all started by binge watching Season 1 for free on the TBS or on demand now. Check out the Wrecked Facebook page for more info about the southern California Pop Up Island Tour.
