Having already tackled his interest in firehouse culture and rock ‘n’ roll in his other television ventures, Denis Leary is now bringing men’s league hockey to the small screen. The series, Benders, plays off of an old cliché: A beer league with a hockey problem.
The new trailer for Benders inexplicably utilizes Stan Bush’s “The Touch”—featured in 1986’s Transformers: The Movie—to showcase the thrill of victory when your team has an 1 A.M. ice time and you have to get up for your shitty day job the following morning. (The most unbelievable part of this clip is that everyone on the team actually shelled out for a jersey, including the goalie. But that’s suspension of disbelief.) According to IFC president Jennifer Caserta, “Hockey knowledge is not required, these guys are all about their beers and their bros,” and there is plenty of both in the clip.
The IFC show features Andrew Schulz as the leader of a men’s rec league hockey team, The Chubbys, whose involvement with the team causes strife between himself and his wife, portrayed by Lindsey Broad. Wackiness, on and off the rink, will no doubt ensue.
Benders premieres Thursday, October 1st on IFC.