IFC’s The Spoils Of Babylon, a parody of overwrought TV miniseries, returns this summer with a sequel set in the seedy world of jazz, the parody of music, and it’s bringing a lot of the same cast back with it. In addition to Will Ferrell’s Orson Welles-in-the-frozen-peas-of-his-life caricature Eric Jonrosh, returning players include Kristen Wiig, Haley Joel Osment, Val Kilmer, Michael Sheen, Steve Tom, and Marc Evan Jackson, who will take on fresh roles and, in Osment’s case, renewed appreciation for transitioning from child star to an adult who plays exaggeratedly crazy people.
They’ll be joined by other new additions looking for some of that sweet ironic appreciation, including Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, and even some people who weren’t on SNL. There is also the requisite eye candy in the form of Emily Ratajkowski, Berenice Marlohe, and Andy Daly.
As previously reported, The Spoils Before Dying is the 1962-set tale of jazz pianist Rock Banyon, played by Michael Kenneth Williams, and his race to clear his name after the murder of his singer and lover Fresno Foxglove (Rudolph). On the lam, Rock meets up with his former singer Delores O’Dell (Wiig), who agrees to help him in his quest—all while Rock’s “hard-charging manager,” played with wig-chewing gusto by Osment, demands that he record a “mainstream jazz” album, thus committing a more widespread version of murder.
Noticeably absent from the returning cast is Tobey Maguire, affirming the long-held opinion of Wire and Spider-Man fans that Michael Kenneth Williams and Tobey Maguire are pretty much interchangeable.