Comedy fans have been waiting patiently – some of us in Mom & Pop Porn Shops – for Bob Odenkirk and David Cross to be allowed to create a new television together. And now, sweet baby Ronnie Dobbs, that day has come, as Netflix has put in a series order for a new sketch comedy from the Mr. Show pair, although it won’t be under the Mr. Show brand, and is simply called With Bob and David.
Fans can expect to see four brand new half-hour episodes from With Bob and David, accompanied by a one-hour “making of” special that’ll take fans behind the scenes. This is sadly not as many episodes as I would have liked, but you don’t look a gift Batman: The Horse in the mouth. And to be fair, the first season of Mr. Show was only four episodes, so we’re going to be greedily optimistic that everyone will be back for more episodes later. Especially since Netflix loves renewing its original programming, Arrested Development being the estranged exception.
Here’s how Netflix is describing the show, which starts off in a rather odd way.
After being dishonorably discharged from the Navy Seals, Bob and David are back serving our country the way they do best, making sketch comedy. Four half-hours of brand new comedy featuring all new characters, all new scenes, and most importantly, all new wigs.
It’s unclear how the show will be formatted, though Odenkirk recently confirmed that they won’t use the Mr. Show stage show set-up as a sketch headquarters. I guess we can assume it won’t take place on a Navy base. Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are executive producing, so it could very well take place inside of a Totino’s Pizza Roll.
News of Odenkirk and Cross rekindling their sketch comedy-ship came some months back when comedian and Mr. Show performer Paul F. Tompkins tweeted a picture of the old squad back in a writers room working on a new project. Cross himself made it seem like it would be a Mr. Show reunion with a few select Kickstarter rewards in a campaign for his movie Hits. But we’re not exactly angry that ended up not being the case, as With Bob and David will be amazing.
Relive David Cross showing off his fabulous auditioning skills in the sketch below.
It isn’t clear when the streaming service will bring With Bob and David to audiences, but we’re down for whenever, so long as it doesn’t interfere with production on Better Call Saul.
