Mike Myers is returning to comedy in a new six-episode Netflix show called The Pentaverate after years of rare film appearances. Judging by the trailer, which premiered on Wednesday, it’s going to be a project where Myers makes up almost half of the cast – according to Deadline, he plays eight different characters.
The show, which begins airing on May 5, also stars Ken Jeong, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jennifer Saunders. It focuses on a shady and possibly world-controlling secret society called the Pentaverate. According to the voice-over in the trailer, which you can watch below, it was started by five people who were branded heretics after they discovered that the Black Plague was caused by fleas and rats (which would explain all the plague doctor masks).
The show’s concept is taken from a joke in another movie starring Myers, “So I Married an Ax Killer.” You can watch this scene below (don’t worry, there are no ax kills in it – just a slander of Colonel Sanders).
It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen Mike Myers’ comedy project – it’s the first major thing he’s written since 2008’s Love Guru, in which Myers wrote and played several characters. there have been a few films since then, like Inglourious Basterds and Bohemian Rhapsody and 2018’s The Terminal, but those projects aren’t exactly like, say, the Austin Powers films that Myers is known for.
Netflix is consistently releasing big name comedy content like Space Force with Steve Carell, Red Notice (beginning with The Rock, Ritu Arya and Ryan Reynolds) and last week’s major premiere of Project Adam (with Mark Ruffalo). starring). , Jennifer Garner and Ryan Reynolds).
It’s really a bit like that time in 2014 when Netflix ordered four Adam Sandler movies and then swore they were so popular that it just had to order four more. I’m not trying to shade this Myers project before it’s released (please don’t offend me Myers Stans, I loved The Spy Who Shagged Me and Shrek) but I feel like Netflix is following a similar pattern of getting comedy stars . from the 90s and early 2000s to make content in the style of their old hits. Hey, he should do something to keep people watching while he raises prices and considers getting people to pay for password sharing.
Disclosure: The Verge is currently producing the series with Netflix.