For fans of Will Forte it’s been a frustrating few years. The last time the former Saturday Night Live cast member was on-screen as a lead in a project was in the short-lived MacGruber series on Peacock in 2021.
In the last few years, Forte has been earning a paycheck as a sought-after voice actor in animated films and series. Another aborted series occurred in 2020, titled Flipped. But that lasted just one 11-episode season.
But Forte is back as a series lead in the Australian comedy/drama “Sunny Nights,” which debuted on Hulu in the United States this month. Subscribers can see all eight Season 1 episodes now.
Sunny Nights co-stars D’Arcy Corden, whom viewers will remember from her top-flight performance as Janet in The Good Place. The creators and showrunners of that show are behind Sunny Nights. But the feel of this program is grittier, and edgier.
Think of Sunny Nights as sort of Forte’s turn at a more grown-up role. It’s sort of like Bill Hader turning the page to “Barry,” except without the constant dread. Forte, with Corden to bounce off of, still brings the funny. But, this Will Forte is more serious and less bumbling than the characters we’re used to him playing.
Forte is more like Eddie Murphy‘s Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop than he is like Hader as Barry or SNL pal Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso. But Sunny Nights is making at attempt to earn viewers for a serious story arc, not just yucks. It shares some vibes with Ozark, though refreshingly lighter.
Forte’s hilarious Emmy-nominated The Last Man on Earth ran three seasons and 66 episodes from 2015-2018. It basically predicted the pandemic, and suffered an undeserved fate of being canceled before it could complete its story. But Sunny Nights seems like it has a commitment to see things through.
You’ll want to see this entire story. It feels great to see Will Forte again.
