Boldly Going Nowhere

Last updated

Boldly Going Nowhere is a proposed American science fiction single-camera comedy television series created by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Adam Stein to be aired in 2009 on the Fox network. [1] [2] The series was planned as a parody of the Star Trek franchise in the format of a workplace sitcom; the title was a reference to the famous phrase "To boldly go where no man has gone before" from the opening speech in the first two Star Trek series. A pilot was shot in 2008, but the project was shelved indefinitely.

Contents

Premise

The show is a workplace comedy in a sci-fi setting dealing with the day-to-day adventures of the captain and crew of intergalactic rock-collecting spaceship RC-7, operating under the Galactic Coalition in the year 2189. Captain Ron Teague hopes to discover new worlds and civilizations instead of being a rock-collector. Unfortunately, he and his crew are immoral and incompetent people, and it is quickly apparent that they are all woefully delusional about the mundanity of their lives.

Development

The initial concept for a comedy on a spaceship was pitched by Adam Stein, then a writers' assistant on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , to the Always Sunny co-creators, stars and showrunners Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney in August 2007 when season 3 of the series was being edited. The three began to discuss it seriously during the 2007–08 writers' strike. [3] After the strike ended, the trio brainstormed ideas with Stein and developed a script, with Day and McElhenney producing the first draft and all four receiving writing and co-creator credits. By March 2009, RCG Productions had signed a two-year deal with 20th Century Fox TV and received a pilot order based on their script, in addition to orders for scripts for five more episodes. Day, Howerton and McElhenney were signed on as executive producers, along with their manager Nick Frenkel and Michael Rotenberg from 3 Arts Entertainment. [3]

The trio announced the upcoming project at SDCC 2008, while promoting season 4 of Sunny, and their plans to have the show on the air in 2009. [4] They hoped to be heavily involved in the first season without playing any of the main roles, and to hire a showrunner to take over after the first six episodes so that they could continue to prioritize their FX show. [5] [6]

Ben Koldyke, who had written, directed and starred in the digital short Jedi Gym parodying Star Wars but was a relative unknown at the time, had approached RCG to get a writer-director position on Boldly Going Nowhere; instead he landed the lead role as the rogue captain and later went on to guest star in season 5 of Always Sunny [7] while former Arrested Development actor Tony Hale was cast as his android companion. [8] David Hornsby and Artemis Pebdani, who had both played recurring roles on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Hornsby was also an executive producer) were cast as the captain's right-hand man and the alien communications officer respectively. [9] [10] Chad L. Coleman, best known at the time for his role as Dennis "Cutty" in The Wire , was cast as the chief of security and would go on to have a recurring role on Sunny starting in season 6. [11] Oliver Platt was cast as Supervisor Bob Thompson in a cameo role. [12]

A pilot was shot in October 2008 after post-production on season 4 of Always Sunny had been completed. The episode was directed by Wayne McClammy, [12] and featured appearances by Always Sunny main cast members Kaitlin Olson and Howerton in guest roles as Tracy Brigsby and the inspector Lt Zander Centauri respectively, [12] while Day made a brief cameo. By December 2008, it was reported that Fox was considering Boldly Going Nowhere and Glee most seriously among its slate of pilots for the following season because of positive responses to screenings. [13] [14]

However, in August 2009, Howerton revealed that the pilot was being rewritten, with Seinfeld writer Larry Charles now involved, to include more science fiction elements like aliens and world building for future episodes. [15] [16] [17] The series underwent sporadic development over the next several years, but no further filming was done.[ citation needed ]

Cast

Status

In May 2011, Howerton announced via his personal Twitter account that the show had been "shelved for now". [18] In October 2013, McElhenney stated in a Reddit AMA that they were again working on the show. [19]

In August 2022, two clips from the pilot were officially released to the public on The Always Sunny Podcast. [20] In September 2022, the pilot episode was uploaded in its entirety to YouTube. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> American sitcom

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed with Glenn Howerton for FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and was moved to FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Charlie Day, Howerton, McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito. The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of narcissistic and sociopathic friends who run the Irish dive bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spend most of their free time drinking, scheming, arguing amongst themselves, and plotting elaborate cons against others, and at times each other, for personal benefit, financial gain, revenge, or simply due to boredom or inebriation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Day</span> American actor (born 1976)

Charles Peckham Day is an American actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton, and of which he is also a writer and an executive producer. In 2011, he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Satellite Award for the role. He subsequently co-created the Fox sitcom The Cool Kids (2018–2019) with Paul Fruchbom and the Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest (2020–present) with Rob McElhenney and Megan Ganz, and continues to executive-produce the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob McElhenney</span> American actor and producer (born 1977)

Robert McElhenney III is an American actor, writer, producer, podcaster and businessman. He is best known for his role as Ronald "Mac" McDonald on the FX/FXX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present), a show he co-created with Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton and on which he continues to serve as an executive producer and writer. He is also known for playing Ian Grimm on the Apple TV+ comedy series Mythic Quest (2020–present), which he co-created with Day and Megan Ganz as executive producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Howerton</span> American actor (born 1976)

Glenn Franklin Howerton III is an American actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is best known for playing Dennis Reynolds on the long-running sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present) on FX/FXX, a series he developed with creator Rob McElhenney, and on which he serves as an executive producer and writer. Since November 2021, he has co-hosted The Always Sunny Podcast with his fellow co-creators McElhenney and Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Elizabeth Ellis</span> American actress (born 1979)

Mary Elizabeth Ellis is an American actress, best known for her recurring roles as The Waitress on the FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–present), Nick's ex-girlfriend Caroline in the Fox sitcom New Girl (2011–2018) and Lisa Palmer on the Netflix horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019). Ellis also starred as Amy in the shortlived NBC sitcom Perfect Couples (2010–2011) and Debbie Sanderson in the Fox sitcom The Grinder (2015–2016). Most recently, she played Gary's mother Anita in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza (2021).

Benjamin Koldyke is an American actor. He is best known for playing Don Frank on How I Met Your Mother (2009–2010), Lee Standish in Work It (2012), and Greg Gibbon on Gortimer Gibbon's Life On Normal Street (2014–2016).

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 2) Season of television series

The second season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on June 29, 2006. The season contains 10 episodes and concluded airing on August 17, 2006.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 3) Season of television series

The third season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 13, 2007. The season contains 15 episodes and concluded airing on November 15, 2007.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 4) Season of television series

The fourth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 18, 2008. The season contains 13 episodes and concluded airing on November 20, 2008.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 5) Season of television series

The fifth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 17, 2009. The season contains 12 episodes and concluded airing on December 10, 2009. Beginning with this season, the series' aspect ratio was changed from 4:3 to 16:9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Nightman Cometh</span> 13th episode of the 4th season of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

"The Nightman Cometh" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 45th overall episode of the series and was written by co-creators Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney and directed by Matt Shakman. It originally aired on FX on November 20, 2008.

<i>Unsupervised</i> American TV series or program

Unsupervised is an American adult animated sitcom created by David Hornsby, Rob Rosell, and Scott Marder which ran on FX from January 19 to December 20, 2012. The show was created, and for the most part, written by David Hornsby, Scott Marder, and Rob Rosell.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 9) Season of television series

The ninth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on the new channel FXX on September 4, 2013. The season consists of 10 episodes, and concluded airing on November 6, 2013. The ninth season was released on DVD in region 1 on September 2, 2014.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 10) Season of television series

The tenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on January 14, 2015. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on March 18, 2015. The tenth season was released on DVD in region 1 on January 5, 2016.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 11) Season of television series

The eleventh season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on January 6, 2016. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on March 9, 2016.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 13) Season of television series

The thirteenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on September 5, 2018. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on November 7, 2018.

<i>Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> (season 15) Season of television series

The fifteenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on December 1 and concluded on December 22, 2021. This season had next day availability on FX on Hulu and FXNOW. The season consists of eight episodes and makes the series the longest-running live-action scripted comedy series in American television history, surpassing The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

"2020: A Year In Review" is the first episode of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 155th overall episode of the series and was written by series developers, executive producers and lead actors Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton and directed by Todd Biermann. It originally aired on FXX on December 1, 2021, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode, "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7".

"The Gang Goes to Ireland" is the fifth episode of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 159th overall episode of the series and was written by main cast members Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton and directed by executive producer Megan Ganz. It originally aired on FXX on December 15, 2021, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode, "The Gang's Still in Ireland".

"The Gang Goes Bowling" is the seventh episode of the sixteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 169th overall episode of the series and was written by series creators and main actors Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton, and directed by executive producer Megan Ganz. It originally aired on FXX on July 12, 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Schneider, Michael (2008-05-13). "'Sunny' creators have future at Fox". Variety . Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  2. ↑ "Breaking News - Development Update: March 13–14 | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  3. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (2008-03-14). "'Sunny' trio blasts off for 20th TV pilot". The Hollywood Reporter .
  4. ↑ Boldly Going Nowhere TV Interview - Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day & Rob McElhenney SDCC 08 - IGN, 30 July 2008, retrieved 2022-11-16
  5. ↑ Andreeva,AP, Nellie; Andreeva, Nellie; AP (2008-03-14). "'Sunny' trio blasts off for 20th TV pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  6. ↑ "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day". The A.V. Club. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  7. ↑ "Rookie takes lead in Fox's 'Boldly'". The Hollywood Reporter . 2008-10-25. Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  8. ↑ Wortham, Jenna (2008-10-23). "Fox's Star Trek Spoof Boldly Going Nowhere Lands Captain | Underwire | Wired.com". Blog.wired.com. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  9. ↑ "David Hornsby And Artemis Pebdani Boldly Go Nowhere". The TV Remote. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  10. ↑ "It's Always Sunny In Space — Behind The Scenes". Videogum. 2008-11-26. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  11. ↑ "I am Chad L. Coleman, you might know me from THE WALKING DEAD or THE WIRE, AMA!". Reddit. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  12. 1 2 3 "Rants & Reviews - The Futon's First Look: "Boldly Going Nowhere" (FOX) | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  13. ↑ Goldman, Eric (2008-12-12). "Updates on Bodly Going Nowhere; Virtuality". IGN. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  14. ↑ Andreeva,AP, Nellie; Andreeva, Nellie; AP (2008-12-12). "Fox makes space for 'Boldly' and 'Glee'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  15. ↑ "Boldly Going pilot will add more sci-fi to the comedy | SCI FI Wire". 2009-08-11. Archived from the original on 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  16. ↑ Woerner, Meredith (2009-08-10). "Boldly Going Nowhere...Actually Going Somewhere?". io9. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  17. ↑ "Breaking News - Development Update: Monday, November 16 | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  18. ↑ @Glenn_Howerton (May 15, 2011). "Shelved for now RT @Ceravic: @Glenn_Howerton Speaking of you guys and non-Sunny, any updates on Boldly Going Nowhere?" (Tweet). Retrieved May 15, 2011– via Twitter.
  19. ↑ "R/IAmA - Comment by u/Dooley on "I am Rob McElhenney AMA!"". 16 October 2013.
  20. ↑ 44. Cricket (with special guest, David Hornsby!) | The Always Sunny Podcast , retrieved 2022-11-16
  21. ↑ "Boldly Going Nowhere Full Pilot". YouTube. September 20, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.