We could have had so much more smoking, pranks,
and escaping the grind of the 9-to-5 day with a proposed "Workaholics" movie,
but that plan went up in smoke. Why cancel a project two years in development? Keep watching.
Unlike other workplace sitcoms like "Newsradio," "The Office," or "30 Rock," "Workaholics" wasn't
spearheaded by a famous comedian or a longtime veteran producer. The series
had a strange road from concept to smash hit, with much of its development coming
down to sheer luck and happenstance, which is what made it such a great success story.
Show creators Anders Holm, Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson,
and Kyle Newacheck were all struggling young comedians, each navigating various ups and
downs in their careers by the mid-2000s. Together they created Mail Order Comedy,
posting sketches on the early days of YouTube, beginning in 2006. This brought them to the
attention of Comedy Central, but surprisingly, they didn't even realize the network was making
overtures until it was almost too late. DeVine told Collider in a 2013 interview,
As DeVine tells it, Comedy Central invited the group to pitch a series,
and within a year, a pilot was on the air. But Holm made clear that it wasn't
as simple as it might sound. Kyle Newacheck added,
Soon after it began airing in 2011, "Workaholics" found a devoted fan following.
With its signature brand of scattershot laughs, off-the-wall antics, and meandering storylines,
it appealed to just about anyone who'd ever experienced the drudgery of a 9-to-5 job.
More than just your standard stoner comedy, it was celebrated for never dreaming too big,
and never jumping the shark. That's why its humble conclusion was all the more appropriate,
with a finale that eschewed the typical grand goodbye.
But the series didn't conclude in 2017 because of low ratings, disappointment from studio heads,
or bad reviews. Like some of the best shows in TV history, the series bowed out because its
stars and creators wanted to go out on their own terms. In a statement at the end of 2016,
when they made it known that "Workaholics" would be ending after its seventh season,
Anderson, DeVine, Holm, and Newacheck made clear that it was by choice. They told Deadline,
With their "Workaholics" journey complete, the four creators of the series moved on
to other projects. But outside of "Game Over, Man!" and "The Package," a pair of
Netflix original films in 2018, each of them more or less did their own thing.
DeVine acted in the series "The Righteous Gemstones," Anderson
joined the 2020 Hulu series "Woke," while Holm did a series of guest spots on shows
like "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and "Mixed-Ish." Newacheck had been
penning scripts for Jemaine Clements "What We Do in the Shadows" series.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, work progressed on crafting the series' return to television.
Planned as an original streaming movie that would air exclusively on Paramount+,
there was tangible excitement for a follow-up. The show's Twitter account fired up and began
posting recollections of the series' best moments, and the four creators launched their
own podcast "This Is Important," which every so often teased out their work on the project.
But everything would come crashing down in January of 2023, after nearly two years of development
and pre-production, when Paramount+ announced the film was being hit with the cancel hammer.
In an Instagram post, Adam DeVine made it clear that there were no
warning signs and no troubling developments as the
production ramped up before they had the rug pulled out from under them. He said,
On the January 10th episode of the "This Is Important" podcast,
the gang went further, describing just how sudden the announcement was. DeVine said,
"We get a call from our manager Isaac that Paramount+ is pulling the 'Workaholics' movie."
DeVine then went on to speak about potential next steps for the movie.
So, I think our goal is to take it to Netflix or Hulu or Amazon
or another streamer that thinks we're worthwhile."
As unexpected as the news was, perhaps even more odd was the timing. Production was so close,
rehearsals were underway. And with the four creators warmed up,
its premature termination was all the more dispiriting. DeVine said,
"We were ready to go, we were doing table reads, we have offices set up. We were building stage."
Kyle Newachek added to the story by saying,
"The stages are up, they're,
it's happening. The office was taped out on the floor. Like, I saw it yesterday."
Blake Anderson added to the conversation with his
thoughts talking about the crew that had been working on the production,
"It was, it was feeling very magical."
DeVine finished the trip down memory lane by concluding,
As for why Paramount decided to pull the plug at the 11th hour, it's not a question with a simple
answer. In the first reports that came out about the film being canned, The Hollywood Reporter
claimed that a source had indicated the production had suffered delays, and "it no longer fit
within the streamer's schedule." But Adam DeVine relayed an entirely different, if somewhat vague,
reasoning that he was given by the studio, saying on Instagram that, quote, "[Paramount+] told us
we don't fit their new 'global' strategy." But what does that mean exactly? DeVine explained,
The gang went on to discuss the theory that their series doesn't
resonate outside of the United States. Because of an apparent shift towards
programming that is popular across the world, "Workaholics" can't compete.
Unhappy to hear that the studio didn't believe in the popularity of the series,
the studio's reasoning didn't sit well with Holm, Anderson, DeVine,
and Newacheck, who contrasted their situation with other recent revivals from Paramount.
"They made a 'Reno 911' movie, what happened to the 'Workaholics' movie?"
As you might imagine, the cast and creators of "Workaholics" weren't pleased when they
got word that the upcoming movie was being ditched. Though Adam
DeVine's note on Instagram struck a mostly professional, if annoyed tone,
they aired their grievances with much more frankness on their podcast, spending the
majority of the two episodes after cancellation expounding on the ill-fated film. DeVine said,
"Nothing! No matter what they throw at us, we'll keep chugging along."
Nevertheless, it appears to be an uphill climb for all involved. According to IndieWire,
Paramount Global chief programming officer of streaming Tanya Giles
said at TCA on January 9th that, "We're big fans of the 'Workaholics' guys." Yet,
she backed up DeVine's explanation that the film didn't fit within their global strategy.
The project remains with MTV Entertainment Studios, and its future is uncertain.
Though little concrete info had found its way out of the production,
there are some tidbits regarding what the creators of "Workaholics" may have had
planned. Upon its announcement in February of 2021, MTV Entertainment Group president
Chris McCarthy spoke with Vulture about the then-upcoming film. Along with several
other relaunched shows like "Beavis and Butthead," "Inside Amy Schumer," and "Reno
911," the new movie would have been part of a "Comedy Central Hub" that he claimed would,
But beyond nebulous corporate speak, McCarthy added that the
"Workaholics" film would center on "what it's like to work through the
pandemic." Given how the workplace has changed since 2020 thanks to COVID-19,
there would have been no shortage of fresh material to use as fodder for the film.
But that's not all, as it seems they were even putting pieces in place to
use the film as a backdoor pilot for a full series revival. McCarthy said at the time,
Just because Paramount+ has tapped out on making a "Workaholics'' movie,
that doesn't mean it's truly done. The four creators aren't giving up. On their podcast,
they discussed plans to shop the movie around. They made a point that because sets, stages,
and crew are all still in place, at least for the moment, they're primed to be picked up quickly,
if a smart studio is willing to step up to the plate. Newacheck said,
"If there's any friends of the pod that have big budgets,
you know, studios, streamers, we're ready to go."
It may seem unlikely, but it wouldn't be unprecedented for a canceled project to be
dropped by one network and quickly snatched up by another. Netflix in particular has a history of
picking up canceled shows, including new seasons of "Longmire" and "Manifest." They also grabbed
the animated tale "The Little Prince" in 2015 just two weeks before it was dropped by none other than
Paramount. Given the gang's strong relationship with Netflix, who they worked with on "Game Over,
Man!," it's at least a possibility that the "Workaholics" movie isn't dead yet.
Now that the "Workaholics" movie is a no-go, Kyle, Adam, Blake, and Anders are facing some
serious time off that had been earmarked for producing the film. While they're
undoubtedly bummed to not be rolling cameras on the revival, that may not be what they're
most upset about. It sounds like they're most unhappy about not spending the spring together,
something they noted they haven't done in quite some time. DeVine acknowledged,
"I was excited to hang out with my boys for a few months straight."
But they're not about to sit around doing nothing and just waiting for something to
come up, as they're too pumped up to sit on their hands. Holm suggested they might
crank out a quick indie movie together and capitalize on the opening in their
schedule. The notion of a live "This is Important" podcast tour was also raised.
Hearing them spitball ideas, it's obvious that the gang wants to do something big with the time
off. What that will wind up being is anyone's guess, but an improv show or a low-budget,
straight-to-streaming original movie seems like a possibility.
Though it may have come as a shock to fans of "Workaholics" when Paramount dropped the film,
it's nothing new in Hollywood. It's certainly not the first time a movie was announced,
only to never make it to the screen. Even late into production, plenty of shows have been
canceled before going in front of the camera, and some even after they had begun shooting.
Notably, the announced relaunch of '80s legal drama classic "L.A. Law" was put out to pasture
by ABC in May of 2022, two years after a major announcement of a legacy sequel with some of its
original cast. Similarly, the proposed revival of '90s stalwart "Coach" was quickly canned in August
of 2015, despite receiving a straight-to-series order by NBC. It was in the middle of production.
Perhaps most famously however, "Star Trek: Phase II," a planned mid-'70s revival of the iconic
'60s series, was all set to go, sets were even constructed and a cast was in place, when the
studio pulled the plug. Ultimately, they chose to pivot to a big-screen feature film instead,
which wound up sparking further series to come. So, perhaps there's hope for "Workaholics" yet.