To make some history of your own, sometimes you have to honor the past.
Hulu’s History of the World, Part II—starring, produced and written by Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes and Nick Kroll—is a sequel 42 years in the making. The series shares the same spirit and comedic sensibility as 1981’s History of the World, Part I—directed and written by Mel Brooks, who also narrates Part II—which was vitally important to all involved as huge fans of Mel’s work.
“I loved the movie,” Wanda exclusively told E! News. “Seen it so many times. But just Mel Brooks in general, from Blazing Saddles to Young Frankenstein. It’s just so iconic. He pretty much created that whole genre.”
Ike remembered seeing Part I when he was “under 5” years old, and argued that Mel is responsible for making cinematic comedy what it is today.
“There were movies before Mel that were very funny and cool and good, but they weren’t hilarious,” he told E! News. “I don’t think they were really hilarious until Mel came along.”
So, how do you take something so celebrated and culturally significant and modernize it for a new audience?
“We wanted to focus on the themes and message of Mel,” Ike said. “It really does feel like a lot of his movies are exploring an every man or an every woman. Without getting political or taking sides, we’re going to call out the hypocrisy of the people who are in charge and how greedy and stupid they can be.”