Mulligan
Entry updated 14 August 2023. Tagged: TV.
US animated tv series (2023). Little Stranger, Bevel Gears, Means End Productions. Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means. Directors include Casey Crowe, Eddie Rosas and David C Smith. Writers include Ben Dougan, Sam Means and Dan Rubin. Voice cast includes Dana Carvey, Nat Faxon, Tina Fey, Phil LaMarr, Daniel Radcliffe, Kevin Michael Richardson, Sam Richardson and Chrissy Teigen. Ten circa 26-minute episodes. Colour.
With the assistance of Miss America Lucy Suwan (Teigen) and a hand grenade, Matty Mulligan (Faxon) destroys the "Hive Mind" of the Alien Invasion force that has wiped out nearly all of humanity. Matty is declared President and chooses Lucy to be his First Lady, assuring the crowd of survivors in Washington: "Don't worry, me and Lucy are going to fix everything – The End!" (see Post-Holocaust).
As the sole surviving politician (see Politics), the elderly reactionary Senator Cartwright LaMarr (Carvey) appoints himself as Vice President: he intends to use Matty and Lucy as diversions whilst he tries to return the USA socially to the 1950s ("when everyone was happy, no exceptions that I can think of") and have unfettered capitalism. However, as befitting a Miss America, Lucy genuinely wants to improve things; Matty (who admits he might not be smart "the only real job I ever had was letting scientists spray perfume in my eyes") is selfish, but – as he wants to impress her – usually supports Lucy. There is also Axatrax (LaMarr), a captured alien general: initially imprisoned in the White House, he is eventually allowed to roam free, though has to put up with Matty's confiding in him. Lucy suggests a panel of the smartest survivors to decide policy, but as most Scientists and intellectuals fled the planet on Jeff Bezos's Spaceship – to be destroyed by the aliens – the number of experts is limited, but they do have military Scientist Dr. Farrah Braun (Fey) and historian Simon Prioleau (S Richardson). Dr Braun also has a Cyborg, TOD-209 (K M Richardson) who wonders who he once was (see Identity). Matty insists humanity now has the opportunity to start with a clean slate: "America 2: The Sequel". Simon: "Well, you're describing more a reboot than a sequel, but sure."
Plots often involve LaMarr trying to create distractions for Matty and the increasingly competent Lucy, such as turning the Whitehouse into a soap opera for the City's 1,132 survivors. Other storylines include discovering the previous President is still alive; Dr Braun and Simon trying to reach a seed bank; attempts to revive the media – and, running through the season, Lucy being courted by the aristocratic Jeremy Fitzhogg (Radcliffe), who – as the only surviving Englishman – has declared himself King; becoming Queen is tempting for Lucy, but she is aware that staying First Lady gives her the opportunity to effect change: in the end she rejects both Matty and Jeremy.
Matty is presumably intended to be the kind of flawed protagonist the audience feels some empathy for, but as the show's characterization is broad-brush he comes across as a charmless idiot. Lucy is likeable and has character development, whilst Dr Braun and Simon are the most interesting cast members. The Humour can be genuinely funny at times, but too often is unremarkable; similarly, the Satire has a few moments, but is mostly lacking bite and originality (see Clichés). Mulligan is not a bad show; neither, so far at least, is it a particularly good one. [SP]
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