Peacock's Twisted Metal Series Looks Like Ridiculous Cringe, And I Can't Wait To Binge Watch It
If you were playing video games in the aughts, chances are you played (or were banned by your parents from playing) a vehicular combat video game called "Twisted Metal." The premise is simple and bombastic enough to bring joy to any trigger-happy tweenager, a demolition derby with souped-up cars featuring machine guns, ballistic projectiles, and even nuclear weaponry. Pick a car, pick a character, and blow s*** up. To be quite honest, "Twisted Metal" is the sort of mindless chaos that seems impossible to adapt to a different medium, but the wild and wonderful weirdos over at Peacock are throwing caution to the wind and delivering a full-octane series of nasty drivers and nonsensical comedy.
Kitao Sakurai ("The Eric Andre Show") is producing and directing some of the episodes, which tells me right away that "Twisted Metal" is exactly my brand of goofy B.S. I was on board when the teaser dropped and I got my first look at wrestler Samoa Joe as the clown-faced Sweet Tooth (the character is voiced by Will Arnett), but the newest look from Peacock featuring the character and Anthony Mackie's "John Doe" has guaranteed that I'll be binge-watching this madness the day it arrives on streaming. The new clip debuted during the Summer Game Fest, and features Sweet Tooth and John Doe not battling it out in their cars, but expressing some hand-to-hand combat in the middle of a casino before taking an intermission to ... well, you've gotta see it to believe it. Check out the footage below!
HAHAHAHA LOOK AT THIS MESS!
You heard correctly, Sweet Tooth and John Doe pause mid-fight to discuss the musical stylings of Sisqó and "The Thong Song." Look, I get it. To some people, this sort of thing is the ultimate cringe and audience repellent. However, I am a camp connoisseur who lives for shows and movies that take ridiculous swings. I expected stupid explosions. I expected larger-than-life characters. I expected Samoa Joe to throw someone through some gimmicked furniture while wearing a clown mask and a fetish harness. I did not expect Anthony Mackie to sing "The Thong Song." Maybe I'm just an easy gal to please, but it feels like the "Twisted Metal" series is bringing the same juvenile, early-'00s energy that made the games so loved. I'm not looking for some deep emotional exploration of why a bunch of weirdo-looking characters are fighting with cars, because I can already get that with the pretend seriousness of the "Fast and Furious" franchise.
No, I want to drown in Dumb B**** Juice as sponsored by "Twisted Metal" and by god, it looks like Peacock is going to give me what I want. It's also exciting to see Anthony Mackie getting the chance to play in a bonkers sandbox again because, despite his Marvel and "Black Mirror" pedigree, he's a guy who also thrives when he gets to be a little corny. The fact this man is singing Sisqó in the big ol' year of 2023 while his face is shoved into the glass of a slot machine is a dream come true. A dream I never knew I needed to see fulfilled until it was presented to me, of course, but ... OKAY, I KNOW IT LOOKS BANANAS, JUST LET ME HAVE THIS!!
All 10 episodes of "Twisted Metal" hit Peacock on July 27, 2023.