The list of American systems Adam McKay (“Vice,” “The Big Short”) has spent the last decade skewering—finance, politics, news media, climate rot—may have found its next target. Joining The Playlist’s The Discourse podcast this week alongside producing partner Kevin Messick to discuss “Thrash,” the new Netflix shark thriller they produced, McKay wound up offering a broader look at the projects still sitting on his desk, including a TV noir about “the collapse of journalism.”
McKay brought up the series while running through a crowded slate that also included the delayed, but not dead, “Average Height, Average Build” and the climate drama now called “2C,” both of which we covered yesterday. But McKay also said one of the stories pulling at him right now is set inside another American institution in free fall.
“I’m working on a spec TV series, sort of a noir about the collapse of journalism and a freelance reporter kind of bottom dweller,” McKay revealed. “And there are so many stories to tell. We’re not a huge company. We have some of the best producers in town, including Kevin. And so these guys are able to do a lot of stuff, but it’s a lot.”
That alone is intriguing, but the TV conversation quickly shifted when Messick jokingly asked for “a little bit of ‘Winning Time’ love,” referring to “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” McKay’s flashy, formally restless HBO series about the Lakers empire. And McKay made it clear that the abrupt second-season cancellation of that show is not something he has gotten over.
“Kevin, one of my great heartbreaks is that we did not get to do that planned third season because it was built to be three seasons, and it still pains me,” he explained. “And, you know, we’ve been around for a while, so we’re used to getting things, you know, canceled or you can’t tell [the continuing story] or whatever. But that one hurt.”
Starring John C. Reilly, Jason Clarke, Jason Segel, and a sprawling cast, HBO pulled the plug on the series in September 2023 after two seasons, right after the finale aired—cutting short one of the stranger and more formally aggressive shows in the premium-cable sports-drama lane, and which felt looser, messier, and more alive than the usual prestige template.
Additionally, Messick teased another Netflix project—a John Lee Hancock movie about Monsanto and Roundup—while McKay discussed films and series at various stages of development. But either way, it’s clear McKay and Messick still have no shortage of work in motion.
“Thrash” premieres on Netflix April 10. More from this interview soon. — Additional reporting by Mike DeAngelo.
