A couple of months ago, we learned that Will Ferrell, frequent partner in crime Adam McKay, and several other Funny or Die guys were bringing an original series to IFC called The Spoils of Babylon. The parody of a television miniseries could potentially make a big impact for the little network and very well may, thanks to the all-star cast that has now signed on for The Spoils of Babylon.
The show has been greenlighted for six episodes at the network and will follow a fake book written by fake author Eric Jonrosh (Ferrell). The story will span multiple generations in the oil industry, also looking at multiple locations, from New York City to Texas. Because it will follow so many different storylines over different time periods, a large ensemble cast will be needed and on Monday, IFC announced a few of the names involved with the production. Tim Robbins, Kristen Wiig, Michael Sheen, Tobey Maguire, Haley Joel Osment, Jessica Alba, Val Kilmer, Steve Tom and Ferrell are all signed on to participate in the short series. You can read more about the The Spoils of Babylon, straight from IFC, below.
“The Spoils of Babylon, a century-spanning saga, chronicles the sexy and dramatic lives of the Morehouse family, led by Jonas Morehouse (Robbins), his daughter Cynthia (Wiig) and her adopted brother Devon (Maguire) who made their fortune in the oil business. The series takes viewers from the oil fields of Texas to boardrooms in New York City, through war torn battlefields and velvet-sheeted bedrooms.Cynthia and Devon’s unbridled and taboo passion for one another cannot be prevented. Add in Cynthia’s evil son Winston (Osment), her put upon husband Chet Halner (Sheen), and Devon’s new love interest Dixie Mellonworth (Alba), and the booze, the pills, more passion, more pills and the heartache, and you have a mercurial potboiler. Then add in illegal arms deals, international espionage, the Shah of Iran (Ferrell), and two US Army Generals (Kilmer, Steve Tom) and it begins to overflow with boiling liquid in a pot on a hot stove that is operational.”
Production on the series actually began yesterday in Los Angeles, and The Spoils of Babylon is set for a 2014 premiere. With all of the talent involved in the series as well as a wild premise, the show should have no trouble attracting attention for IFC. Hopefully, it can even manage to find a broader audience than the network’s niche program, Portlandia, and will be able to put IFC on the map. We’ll let you know when IFC’s newest mini gets an official premiere date at the network.
