Rebooting the forged: Where you have seen the celebs of Hulu’s meta-comedy earlier than

The revival of hit sitcoms is a trend that’s dominated television (or streaming, more accurately) for years — as more recently with Netflix’s Full House sequel series Fuller House, or Paramount+’s follow-up to Nickelodeon’s iCarly . Part of the fun of continuing the stories of these classic comedies rather than being remade is that the original cast are back in the spotlight and reuniting for the first time in a while. But what if the actors are just shells of themselves and a reunion with their former co-stars has disastrous consequences? That’s the question Reboot hilariously asks and answers.

This new September release from Modern Family, co-creators of Modern Family, chronicles the Hulu-exclusive revival of an early 2000’s (fictional) family-friendly sitcom called Step Right Up. While things aren’t going so well behind the scenes with the original cast members and series creator working together again, I can’t imagine the talented reboot cast facing the same issues. Speaking of which, let’s delve deeper into the hilariously confident world of this new comedy by exploring who’s playing who and how you know them.

Keegan-Michael Key on reboot

(Image credit: Hulu)

Keegan-Michael Key (Reed)

Reed – an actor with a failed Post-Step Right Up film career – plays Keegan-Michael Key, who is already one of the biggest names in comedy, having worked with his former MADtv co-headliner of the hit sketch series Key & Peele was star Jordan Peele, who he would also reunite with on the big screen in Keanu and Toy Story 4.

His other notable cinematic ventures include Shane Black’s The Predator, Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice, a couple of Disney remakes (2019’s The Lion King and 2022’s Pinocchio), the Hotel Transylvania films, and several Netflix original comedies such as Dolemite is My Name and The Bubble, more recently. Reboot really just marks his final stint in a TV comedy company, following games like Playing House, Netflix’s Friends from College, and the Apple TV+ musical fantasy Schmigadoon!

Johnny Knoxville in the reboot

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Johnny Knoxville (sound)

As Clay — an actor with a criminal record past Step Right Up — we later have Johnny Knoxville, best known to most as one of the brash immature pranksters from MTV’s Jackass and its many feature-length spin-offs. However, his years of risking his life in front of the camera would soon earn him a relatively impressive acting career as well, producing easy comedies like 2005’s The Dukes of Hazzard and 2006’s surprisingly heartfelt The Ringer, as well as action moves with the likes of Will Smith (Men in Black II), Dwayne Johnson (Walking Tall, 2004), Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Last Stand, 2014), Jackie Chan (Skiptrace, 2016) and Mads Mikkelsen (Polar, 2019).

Knoxville has also voiced Leonardo in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action films and has even directed serious dramas like Lords of Dogtown and the 2019 horror film We Summon the Darkness, but Reboot is actually his first joining a scripted one TV series. main ensemble.

Judy Greer rebooting

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Judy GreerBree

Bree – an actor with a disappointing TV career after Step Right Up – is played by Judy Greer, who has featured prominently in many main ensemble casts in TV shows of various genres, such as Showtime’s The First Lady cast and in FX’s Archer voice has as Cheryl Tunt, most notably.

However, she’s even more prolific as a scene thief in some of the biggest blockbuster franchises – like the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ant-Man’s Ex, Jurassic World as Bryce Dallas Howard’s character’s sister, or as Laurie Strode’s daughter in the latest Halloween movies. Greer has also starred in some critically acclaimed film favorites such as Steven Soderbergh’s 1999’s Three Kings, 2004’s 13 Going on 30, 2011’s Oscar-winning dramedy The Descendants, and many more.

Paul Reiser on restarting

(Image credit: Hulu)

Paul ReiserGordon

As Gordon — the creator of the original Step Right Up — we have Paul Reiser, who has some real-life experience with sitcoms (like My Two Dads in the 1980s and the Amazon Original Red Oaks ’80s set more recently) and reboots , after reviving his own ’90s sitcom, Mad About You, as a Spectrum original in 2019.

The comedian debuted in Barry Levinson’s Diner in 1982, played the human antagonist of Aliens four years later, and gave a memorable performance in Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning feature debut Whiplash in 2014. Reboot is the latest in what appears to be something of a comeback for Reiser, which also includes his recurring role on Netflix’s The Kominsky Method, his expanded role in the cast of Stranger Things in Season 4, his smashing cameo in The Includes Boys and his return to the Beverly Hills cop franchise in the upcoming fourth installment.

Rachel Bloom in the reboot

(Image credit: Hulu)

Rachel BloomHannah

Hannah — who pitched the idea to Hulu to revive Step Right Up — is Rachel Bloom, the Emmy-winning actress and co-creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, who was previously best known for a series of funny, musical shorts and a brief role in How I’m Yours Mom met in Season 7.

Since then, her big claim to fame has mostly been playing voice acting roles – such as recurring spots in Bojack Horseman and Robot Chicken, the role of Batgirl in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2019, or Barb in the cast of Trolls 2: World Tour name a few. Bloom also recently appeared in the aforementioned iCarly revival and opposite fellow reboot cast member Keegan-Michael Key in Disney+’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers in 2022.

Calum Worthy on reboot

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Calum worthy (Zach)

As Zach — the now-adult former child star of Step Right Up — we have now-adult former child actor Calum Worthy, whose prior sitcom experience is mostly Disney Channel — like Austin & Ally most notably — but he also appeared in three episodes of Psych and played a central role in Netflix’s mockumentary-style true crime parody, American Vandal.

His dramatic TV work ranges from guest appearances on series such as Stargate: Atlantis, Smallville or Supernatural to joining the cast of Hulu’s true crime miniseries The Act or lending his voice to Pacific Rim: The Black for Netflix. Worthy made his feature film debut in 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, played a teenage cyborg in 2007’s The Last Mimzy, and later starred in the 2017 rap battle film Bodied.

Christa Marie You at the restart

(Image credit: Hulu)

Krista Marie Yu (Elaine)

We play Elaine – Hulu’s new vice president of comedy, although she’s “new to humor” – we have Krista Marie Yu, who knows humor, having been the daughter of the title characters in Dr. Ken and the exchange student Jen plays. on Last Man Standing. She has also appeared in other TV comedies such as Cougar Town, The Middle and Nickelodeon’s The Thundermans, as well as hilarious films such as 2012’s Fun Size (starring Reboot co-star Johnny Knoxville) and 2015’s Love the Coopers.

Yu is also no stranger to drama, having starred in the 2016 horror film The Darkness and more recently landing small roles in films such as Parenthood, the MCU canon adventure series, Agent Carter, and Netflix’s animated reboot Carmen Sandiego.

They certainly aren’t doing sitcoms like Step Right Up anymore, and it’s rare to see such a star-studded cast of talented comedians as the reboot cast in one place. Try them out by streaming this Hollywood satire on Hulu on Tuesday September 20, 2022.

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