Son of Zorn premieres Sunday night on Fox after football and two weeks later moves into its regular 8:30 p.m. time slot, replacing Bordertown, whose consulting producer was the Weekly's Mexican In Chief, the writer of the final episode.
The cancellation, coupled with Son of Zorn being set in Orange County, which Fox has a track record of disparaging (check the Weekly archives for my long-ago column “The O.C. Watch” for details), means I should really hate the network's new animated/live-action mash-up. Alas, I laughed early and often while viewing the pilot episode, “Return to Orange County.”
Setting the show here, even fictionally, services the fish-out-of-water comedy. “Return to Orange County” begins in the faraway Pacific island Zephyria, which is totally animated in a style reminiscent of the mid-1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoons Birdman and The Herculoids. Zorn, “the Defender of Zephyria,” leaves to reunite with his estranged family in a place that is the exact opposite of his brutal world.
Cut to the upscale, suburban, vanilla County of Orange. The people, place and things of Zephyria are all animated, all the time, and though living in Orange County can sometimes feel as if we're stuck in a cartoon, it is presented through a live-action lens. Yes, one lens, for this is a single-camera sitcom.
Thinking about why Son of Zorn creators Reed Agnew and Eli Jorné, who also co-wrote “Return to Orange County,” do not have a live person playing Zorn, I came to the conclusion their hybrid is full of winking-at-the-audience potential, as their previous show Wilfred did with Jason Gann in a dog suit. A character who is muscular; dons long, red locks; and wears only boots, briefs and a thick belt that wraps around his waist and chest also presents a casting problem since the Rock is busy doing Ballers.
What we get instead for the Zorn toon is the voice of Jason Sudeikis, who speaks with just the right mix of heroism, self-importance and ulterior-motive-making. From Saturday Night Live, Horrible Bosses and We Are the Millers, we already know Sudeikis is a master at comic timing and shading.
What brings his Zorn to the OC (bitch) is the 17th birthday of his son Alangulon (who goes by “Alan” and is played by 21 Jump Street's Johnny Pemberton), but what the superhero really wants to do is reinsert himself permanently into the lives of his boy and former wife. However, much changed during Zorn's decade apart from his family. His ex-wife (Curb Your Enthusiasm's Cheryl Hines) now has a fiancé (SNL's Tim Meadows), and Alan is a sensitive vegetarian not given, like dad, to wielding a mighty sword to slice off the heads of foes, animal and humanoid alike.
However, “Return to Orange County” ends with a shot that hints at much more to come from Alan (thus, the program's title). I'm bullish on Son of Zorn maintaining the momentum in future episodes. First, I'd watch just about anything with this cast, which also includes the delightfully deadpan Artemis Pebdani of Scandal and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame. Second, the show is solid behind the camera.
Executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed Pemberton in the surprisingly hilarious 21 Jump Street. Another executive producer is Seth Cohen—not the wiseacre teen character played by Adam Brody on The O.C., but, along with Lord and Miller, an executive producer on Fox's live-action comedy hit The Last Man On Earth, which co-stars Sudeikis. Eric Appel, who directed “Return to Orange County,” is also an executive producer on Zorn and Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Geez, Bordertown got out-Foxed!
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Speaking of heroes, I was unable to see Snowden by deadline, but I wanted to make you aware of Snowden Live, which is a sneak preview of the highly anticipated film followed by a conversation between Edward Snowden and director Oliver Stone. Wednesday's one-night-only show is presented by Open Road Films, the indie studio producing the flick, and Fathom Events, which beams live performances into movie theaters.
In the thriller that opens nationwide Friday, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the former CIA contractor and controversial whistleblower who famously leaked classified information to the media. Sadly, West Coast theaters get Stone, speaking from New York, and Snowden, via Skype from Russia, on tape delay, unlike the rest of the country. It could still be a kick in the britches, though.
Son of Zorn: “Return to Orange County” was directed by Eric Appel; written by Reed Agnew and Eli Jorné; and stars Jason Sudeikis, Cheryl Hines, Tim Meadows, Johnny Pemberton and Artemis Pebdani. Airs on KTTV/Channel 11. Sun., 8 p.m. (or after Fox's NFL doubleheader ends).
Snowden Live screens at AMC Downtown Disney, AMC Marina Pacifica in Long Beach, AMC Orange 30, AMC Tustin Legacy, Cinemark Century Stadium in Orange, Cinemark Huntington Beach, Cinemark Long Beach, Edwards Aliso Viejo Stadium, Edwards Irvine Spectrum and Edwards Long Beach Stadium. Wed., 7:30 p.m. $16-$18.
