There was plenty of good television in 2015, but one of the minor delights that got less than its due was7 Days in Hell, the hour-long mockumentary about a fictional tennis match betweenAndy Samberg’s swaggering, drug-addled American andKit Harrington’s uptight British player. The laughs were big and consistent in that film, thanks as much to the two main stars as to guest stars likeLena DunhamandWill Forte, and those who saw the movie reacted largely positively.
That would explain why HBO is now pairing with Samberg, as well as writer-producerMurray Millerand producer-directorJake SzymanskiofMike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, on another sports mockumentary. According toTVL, Samberg and the creative team are set forTour de Pharmacy, which, as you might have put together, will take a fictional look at the doping scandals that have plagued professional biking over the years, especially followingLance Armstrong’s wholething. Samberg will star andHamiltonbreakoutDaveed Diggsis set to co-star alongside him, withJohn Cena,Dolph Lundgren,Phylicia Rashad,Julia Ormond, andMike Tysonall set to make appearances, And, thank the good lord, Forte will also be returning for the limited series.
It’s certainly a subject that has quite a lot of material ripe for parody and general foolishness, and Samberg has proven himself a bit of an expert at depicting the self-indulgences and delusions that celebrities, from sports or otherwise, depend on in their day-to-day life. If you need more proof than7 Days in Hell, there’s also Samberg’s excellent comedic turn inPopstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which didnt do well at the box office but remains one of the summer’s most enjoyable big-studio releases.Tour de Pharmacywill likely follow the same general trajectory as both of those works, which is absolutely fine by me, and adding Diggs, who takes his final bow inHamiltontonight, makes this one of HBO’s most promising new comedic enterprises on the docket as of right now.
