https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKOpvm7BcOo
Ever since he broke out as the hotheaded, bombastic G.O.B. on the modern classic Arrested Development, it’s been common knowledge that Will Arnett is a force to be reckoned with as a comedic lead. Whether it was in guest spots as power-hungry gay executive Devon Banks on 30 Rock, or in extended stints on the now-canceled Up All Night or The Millers, Arnett’s gravelly voice and committed physicality made him a reliably entertaining screen presence. This made his dramatic turn as chronically depressed actor BoJack Horseman (you know, from Netflix’s similarly titled cartoon about a talking horse) all the more surprising. Arnett got laughs, but he did so from beneath a thick blanket of self-loathing, self-sabotage, and self-absorption.
Arnett will return to Netflix as the lead of the upcoming series Flaked, and from the looks of the trailer embedded above, he’ll once again straddle the line between sardonic comedy and heart-heavy drama. Here, he plays self-fashioned “guru” Chip in the only place that allows for guru-ship as a professional lifestyle, southern California. While searching for self-actualization or maybe just a good lay in the insular community of Venice, Los Angeles, Chip will have to contend with his own compulsive lying, as well as a nasty substance abuse problem, all with a dysfunctional personal life to match. The trailer hints at the formation of love triangle that could estrange Chip from his pal.
The show is co-created by Arnett and his Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret writing partner Mark Chappell and executive produced by Arrested Development‘s Mitch Hurwitz, and the trailer suggests that this comedy will err on the darker, downbeat side when it premieres on Friday, March 11. It’s a natural move for Arnett and Netflix, who jointly won some of 2015’s most glowing reviews for the similarly-toned Bojack Horseman. One more makes a trend, and then we can officially anoint this the Golden Age of the Bummer Comedy.
