In all honesty you either like MacGruber, you don’t, or you’ve never heard of him. The popular character created by Will Forte is someone that looks like a knockoff MacGyver, which is accurate since it is a parody of that popular character, and has been seen as every bit as ridiculous as he’s tried to be, which has made him a cult classic of sorts. His self-titled movie, which came out back in 2010, was a noted flop that seemed to be going for the popular vote since it starred several big names and faces that were used more as props than anything. But maybe a turn to the small screen would be what’s needed to make MacGruber into something that people will want to watch again. It’s amazing to think that it would be due to a flop that he could become a popular individual, but as Randall Colburn of AV Club might agree it’s not the strangest thing to ever happen in the history of show business.
If the idea does make its way to TV it does appear as though we could be seeing Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillipe, and even Val Kilmer returning as part of the rumor, but until it does happen we’re going to be sitting here guessing and in some cases hoping, if you’re a fan that is. Some people might have actually looked at MacGruber in the same way that Patty and Selma from the Simpsons did since the idea of spoofing MacGyver was never that popular of an idea with some folks given his level of stardom at one point. But somehow, regardless of all that, MacGruber did become a sensation for a while and was even a part of the WWE for an episode since the movie did happen to make use of a few wrestlers in a short but kind of pointless way. The cynicism surrounding this show, as exhibited by some, seems like it could be a stumbling block to really get stuff going, but it could also be the over the top craziness that it showed that might be kind of problematic for regular TV. If that does happen to be the case though it could be that the show, if it does come to pass, could find its way to a streaming network if one of them is willing to take the idea on and make something of it. Given that it might feature a few very notable stars it’s hard to think that no one would want it as there’s enough potential to make a cash grab with the show and perhaps appease a good number of fans that still have faith in it.
Streaming has become a huge bonus for a lot of shows these days that don’t quite have what it takes to make it on the big screen but are just out of control enough that showing them on TV wouldn’t be a great idea. For shows like MacGruber this offers a chance at redemption of sorts that can help to elevate them in the eyes of their fans and possibly keep them around for a little while longer so that people can enjoy them. Whether or not the show will really come to a streaming network and do any good is hard to say since the fact that it has a cult following is enough to seemingly state that it might do just fine and could possibly gain an even bigger following, but again, there’s nothing to say that it wouldn’t tank either. Amy Nicholson of Rolling Stone has a few words of her own to offer on this. Will Forte has been proven to be a great comedian on his own and with help but in this case it kind of feels as though he needs continual backup since as a spoof character MacGruber is kind of, well, not as solid as some might want to claim that he is. Giving the character his own show does seem to indicate that there is enough faith in the idea that the show could perform and could possibly gain traction on a network if allowed to roam even further than the boundaries of a movie would allow, but it’s still something of a risk since despite the fact that people like MacGruber, that’s not quite enough since moving a character and their story forward takes more than just being popular, it takes the kind of depth that some might argue that he has, and others will argue that he lacks. At this point it’s still a lot of conjecture and talk, but if it ever does move forward it seems safe to say that planning one season at a time would be the best idea.
Personally, MacGruber might be good for a season or two, but apart from that it would need something of a monumental shift to really catch on and stick.
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