Entertainment

Will Arnett Leads The Talented 'Flaked' Cast

by Laura Rosenfeld

Whether you've finished binge-watching Season 4 of House of Cards or just need a break from the cutthroat world of politics, there's plenty more to stream on Netflix where that came from. In fact, Netflix is rolling out its latest original series, Flaked, on Friday, March 11. What you probably already know about this serio-comedy is that it was created, written by, and executive produced by Will Arnett. What's more, Arnett also stars in the new original series, but he's not the only one in the Flaked cast who you've seen on TV and in movies before.

Sure, the cast of Flaked (which follows the trials and tribulations of a man named Chip (Arnett) whose image and sobriety are thrown for a loop when he falls for the woman of his best friend's dreams) may not exactly be made up of actors who have household names like Arnett. But even if you don't recognize the cast members' names, you should recognize their faces — if you are the TV connoisseur that you think you are, that is.

But in addition to Arnett, there's plenty of star power in smaller doses if you need that sort of thing in order to start watching a new TV series. Flaked will see Arnett reunite with Mitch Hurwitz, who created Arrested Development and who will also serve as executive producer on this new show. Heather Graham will also appear as Chip's ex-wife, and Kirstie Alley will also guest star as the mother of Chip's best friend.

Overall, it looks like Flaked is going to be tragically comedic, and it seems like the show has rounded up the right actors for the job.

Will Arnett As Chip

With everything Arnett has done behind-the-scenes of Flaked, it's no wonder that he put himself in front of the camera, too. Arnett will be playing main protagonist Chip, a longtime resident of Venice, California, who's trying to keep his sobriety and everything else together when he falls in love with the woman his best friend Dennis had been pining for.

Flaked proves that Arnett loves Netflix, and Netflix loves Arnett. Flaked is Arnett's latest project with the streaming service, having previously reprised his role as Gob Bluth in the fourth season of Arrested Development and lent his voice as the titular character in BoJack Horseman. Of course, Arnett has made a name for himself as one of the biggest stars in comedy today, even though he has struggled to have a hit TV show since Arrested Development, starring in quickly cancelled sitcoms like Running Wilde, Up All Night, and The Millers. However, Arnett is definitely a scene stealer. You needn't look any further than his recurring role as Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) awfully hilarious adversary Devon Banks on 30 Rock for proof of that.

Arnett also has the fortune of being blessed with an incredibly unique and recognizable voice, which has snagged him some roles in hit animated feature films like Monsters vs. Aliens, Despicable Me, and The Lego Movie, whose spinoff The Lego Batman Movie will star Arnett in the title role when it hits theaters in 2017. Before then, we can also look forward to Arnett playing Vernon Fenwick in the sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows due out in theaters this summer.

David Sullivan As Dennis

Poor Dennis is going to have his heart broken by his hard-to-get-along-with bestie Chip in Flaked. But lucky for David Sullivan, this is his biggest role to date. Before this, Sullivan had a supporting role in Argo as Jon Titterton. He was also nominated for Best Debut Performance at the 2005 Film Independent Spirit Awards for his role in the movie Primer. Sullivan has also popped up a lot on TV over the years with guest spots in Justified, Gigantic, and New Girl. If he wows us with his performance in Flaked, we could be seeing a lot more of Sullivan in the future.

Ruth Kearney As London

Ruth Kearney plays this waitress who tickles Dennis' fancy but actually has eyes for Chip and vice versa. It's unclear where London is actually from in Flaked, but Kearney is originally from Ireland. Across the pond, she starred in the British prehistoric adventure series Primeval. However, American audiences should know Kearney from her recurring roles as Katerina in Tyrant and Daisy in The Following. Compared to all of those series, Flaked is definitely way more simplistic, so I'm eager to see what Kearney does with more stripped-down material.

George Basil As Cooler

From what I can tell so far, Cooler will live up to his name in Flaked. This friend to Chip and Dennis has some beach-ready long hair and a laid-back attitude to match.

The actor who plays this character, George Basil, has a pretty distinctive face, but it doesn't look like we've seen him in too many big projects so far. That's probably because Basil has focused much of his attention on improv and sketch comedy. He has also done quite a few CollegeHumor Originals and appeared on The Pete Holmes Show and Adam Ruins Everything. However, Basil might be most recognizable for the several commercials he has starred in for Bud Light and Vonage. I have a feeling Cooler is going to be a fan-favorite character from Flaked, so hopefully we'll get to see more than 30 seconds of Basil on the show.

Lina Esco As Kara

By the looks of the Flaked trailer, Kara seems to be another woman that has feelings for Chip but hers aren't returned. Hopefully, Chip's attractive qualities become more apparent when the series actually premieres, I'm just saying.

But as for actress Lina Esco, she may look young, but she's not new to the TV game with previous supporting roles in the short-lived Cane, the Heroes: Destiny web series, and, most recently, Kingdom, where she played Ava. She has also had some guest spots in CSI: NY, Drop Dead Diva, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, as well as in the movies LOL and Free the Nipple. Get ready for Esco to bring the sass to Flaked.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse As Topher

Topher is a young tech genius new to Venice who Chip takes under his wing to help him fit in. That may be difficult, considering the fact that whenever I see or hear Christopher Mintz-Plasse, I immediately think of his character from Superbad, Fogell, better known as McLovin'. Since Superbad, Mintz-Plasse has gone on to have memorable roles in Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2, as supervillains Red Mist and The Motherf***er, respectively. He has made appearances in other recent comedies too, including Pitch Perfect, This Is the End (as himself), and Neighbors. Mintz-Plasse has also lent his voice to the character of Fishlegs in the How to Train Your Dragon movies and ParaNorman. You never really know where Mintz-Plasse is going to end up next.

Robert Wisdom As Chip's Former Sponsor

It's unclear what the name of Robert Wisdom's character is, but in the trailer for Flaked, he appears to be a police officer who was also Chip's sponsor at one time. However, Wisdom has played characters on both sides of the law throughout his career. He played crime lord Lechero on Prison Break, Baltimore Police Department Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin in The Wire, Detective Roger Hobbs on Happy Town, Michael Westen's handler Vaughn Anderson on Burn Notice, Deputy Mayor Coleman Carlisle on Nashville, and Commander Ron Perry on Chicago, P.D. However, seeing Wisdom play a cop in a more comedic series should be a new challenge for the actor.

As you can see, the Flaked cast is a talented bunch. Let's just hope their performances are captivating enough for us to want to not flake out on this series.

Images: Adam Rose (3), Matt Kennedy, Benjamin Cohen/Netflix (3)