Johnny Knoxville on Hulu Reboot Cancellation
“Oscar Wilde said, ‘Life imitates art better than art imitates life,'” Knoxville said, “but he didn’t see what happened with ‘Reboot.’
Johnny Knoxville doesn’t want a ‘Jackass’ backlash for canceling ‘Reboot’ prematurely.
“Modern Family,” a comedy series created by Emmy winner Steven Levitan, stars Knoxville, Keegan-Michael Key and Judy Greer as former ’90s sitcom stars who reunite to revive their show. Paul Reiser and Rachel Bloom are the father-daughter screenwriting team behind the new iteration of the fictional series “Step Right Up.” Hulu announced that the critically acclaimed comedy was canceled after one season in January.
“I have no insight into why it was canceled,” Knoxville said recently Vulture. “The whole thing is being played very close to the vest. I know we made fun of Hulu a lot on the show, but I give the execs more credit than canceling the movie for such a silly reason.”
“Reboot” has been a frequent poke at parenting streamer Hulu, and satirical sitcom “Step Right Up” has been tweaked by Hulu executives to adhere to an elusive algorithm for viewers. Ironically, Knoxville mused, that’s probably why “Reboot” got the axe.
“Of course I would have liked it to have ended differently, but I know that I am a very lucky person. We made a great show and it will be there for people forever. It’s a really great thing,” Knoxville said. “Hopefully I won’t be angry or sad. I’m very grateful for everything that’s happened, but of course I’m a little bit angry about how it ended.”
And maybe it’s not quite over yet. Knoxville added, “You could do a spinoff just from the writers’ room. That was probably my favorite part of the show – watching the writers and listening to whatever came out of Rose Abdoo’s mouth. There was a lot of laughter. But now it’s like, oh my God, really? At least I did something good. At least I was a part of such a good show.”
The “Jackass” star summed up the series cancellation: “I have a lot of feelings about it. I am so thankful and grateful that it happened. I’m shocked and appalled that it’s over. Of course there is anger, but try not to give in to it. I’m still trying to process it. I mean, come on, it was a Steve Levitan show. We had a very strong first season. This is my first series so I was spoiled for choice. Everyone said it was rare to work on a show of this caliber with people you liked. We all got along so well. We thought, “Oh, this is going to be fun for the next five or six seasons.” We took it for granted. Boy, were we surprised. Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life,” but he didn’t see what happened to “Reboot.”
He added: “We’re disappointed it’s been cancelled, but I’m not deaf. People have real problems in this world. Canceling an actor’s show isn’t the end of the world. Still, we loved it and hoped it would continue.”
Sources told IndieWire that “Reboot” creator Levitan is currently shopping the show around in hopes of finding a new home.
Levitan later he tweeted“Well, that seems to be the conclusion of Reboot. We are very proud of our amazing cast and crew and what we have done together. Thank you to everyone who watched and said such nice things. you did not see? Check us out on Hulu if you can find it. #UnintentionalLimitedSeries.”
“Reboot” stars Greer and Bloom lived on social media, and Greer wrote Instagram, “My heart is so sad tonight that I can no longer play this show with these incredible people. It was an amazing experience and I will be forever grateful.”
Bloom also shared it Instagram“I guess I should have a ‘classic’ response to Hulu canceling @rebootonhulu so big thanks to @stevelevitan for making this amazing show @missjudygreer @keeganmichaelkey @calumworthy @johnnyknoxville @kristamarieyu that he was best co-stars ever and because @paulreiserofficial let me yell at him on screen and off screen I’m the rabbi. I hope it gets a life elsewhere.”
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