When we last checked in with The Spoils of Babylon, IFC’s new six-part miniseries from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, all we knew was 1) Ferrell will be playing the fictional author of an epic, century-spanning novel about a family of oil tycoons, and 2) it sounds like a big ol’ vat of crazy. In a good way. I think.
Well, now we know a third thing: it will star Tobey Maguire and Kristen Wiig.
In the vein of The Thorn Birds and Winds Of War, the epic story of The Spoils Of Babylon chronicles the sexy and dramatic lives of the Morehouse family who made their fortune in the oil business. As the story unfolds, the booze, the passion and the heartache lead to illegal arms deals and international espionage with the Shah of Iran (also played by Ferrell) not to mention the creation of the doomed sub-prime market. Maguire will play Devon Morehouse, who as an orphaned child was taken in by future oil magnate Jonas Morehouse, and his daughter, Cynthia (Wiig). Devon and Cynthia will go on to run Morehouse Enterprises, the seventh largest company in the world, together while fighting their feelings for each other. [Deadline]
I’m sure landing big name stars like Maguire and Wiig for a goofy, high-concept project like this has more to do with the limited time commitment of a miniseries (and Will Ferrell calling in favors) than anything else, but still, this is a pretty big deal for IFC. And it only makes me want to see this show more. The last time I wrote about it I said, “This is either going to be amazing or a SPECTACULAR disaster,” and given the track records of everyone involved, I’m definitely leaning toward the former.
Hopefully it’s a huge hit and IFC ends up greenlighting a two-hour version of Red Ships of Spain.
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