Netflix’s first attempt at an adult animated comedy, Bojack Horseman, debuted two months ago and shocked audiences who weren’t expecting such a personal story behind all the sex and alcoholism jokes. The streaming service will once again head to the 2D world of animation by teaming up with Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Television for F is for Family, which already boasts a cast that includes Justin Long, Laura Dern and Bill Burr, the stand-up comedian whose stage stories inspired the series. Does this finally make Burr a household name yet?
F is for Family will center on over-the-top patriarch Frank Murphy (Burr), his wife Sue (Dern) and son Kevin (Long), who is called the oldest, presumably meaning more family members will be cast later. There isn’t a real plotline yet, but it takes place during the 1970s, which the press release describes as “a time when you could smack your kid, smoke inside and bring a gun to the airport.” Katie O’Connell, CEO of production company Gaumont International Television, calls it a “hilariously edgy” style of comedy, so it sounds like the creative team will do everything necessary to assert its adult tone.
F is for Family will run for only six episodes, and was created by Bill Burr and Emmy-award winning writer Michael Price (The Simpsons), the latter of whom will serve as showrunner. Also executive producing is actor/producer Peter Billingsley (Couples Retreat). Here’s how Burr describes the chance to make this project a reality.
F is for Family is the show I’ve always wanted to do. It captures all the characters of my childhood the way I remember it to be. Fortunately, Mike Price and everyone at Wild West seem to know the same people I knew growing up. It’s going to be a lot of fun to tell these stories.”
Burr is a rising star, spinning a fan favorite character out of a small role on Breaking Bad. He’ll soon be working with some of the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia guys for an upcoming FX comedy called Pariah, and his latest stand-up special will hit Netflix on December 5. You can find some of his other specials on Netflix and on YouTube.
Justin Long knows comedy, and he knows voicework. He’s been in animated things like Alvin and the Chipmunks and the shortlived series Unsupervised, and his most recent TV work was actually for the animated Comedy Central series TripTank. Dern, who reclaimed her TV fame in HBO’s Enlightened, flexed her comedy muscles this year in Comedy Central’s Kroll Show and Drunk History. She’ll undoubtedly be great in this.
It’s unclear when F is for Family will go into production, but Netflix is planning on releasing it in all of its territories in 2015.
