The Spoils of Babylon
| The Spoils of Babylon | |
|---|---|
| The Spoils of Babylon | |
| Created by | Matt Piedmont Andrew Steele |
| Written by | Matt Piedmont Andrew Steele |
| Directed by | Matt Piedmont |
| Starring | Tobey Maguire Kristen Wiig Tim Robbins Jessica Alba Val Kilmer Haley Joel Osment Michael Sheen Will Ferrell |
| Theme music composer | Andrew Feltenstein John Nau |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Will Ferrell Adam McKay Tobey Maguire Kristen Wiig Matt Piedmont Andrew Steele Nate Young Pavlina Hatoupis J.B. Popplewell Cherie Carter Parks |
| Cinematography | Giles Dunning |
| Editor(s) | David Trachtenberg |
| Running time | 135 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Funny or Die |
| Release | |
| Original network | IFC |
| Original release | January 9 – February 6, 2014 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Spoils Before Dying |
The Spoils of Babylon is an American comedy miniseries written by Matt Piedmont and Andrew Steele, directed by Piedmont, and starring Tobey Maguire, Kristen Wiig, Tim Robbins, Jessica Alba, Val Kilmer, Haley Joel Osment, Michael Sheen, and Will Ferrell.[1] It is intended to be a spoof of the epic-scale "TV event" miniseries adapted from bestselling novels (such as The Thorn Birds and Rich Man, Poor Man) prevalent on American network television in the 1970s and 1980s. The miniseries premiered on IFC on January 9, 2014.[1] For her performance as Cynthia Morehouse, Kristen Wiig was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Plot
The entire miniseries is presented as if it had been a real miniseries, with a fictional backstory of how it took three years to film and was originally 22 hours long, and each episode is framed with its author/director Eric Jonrosh sitting in a restaurant discussing it. Patriarch Jonas Morehouse shepherds his daughter Cynthia and adopted son Devon from meager beginnings in the oil fields of Texas to powerful boardrooms in New York City. Cynthia and Devon, entwined in undeniable love, stumble through war-torn battlefields, blazing mansions, filthy drug dens and velvet-sheeted bedrooms on their quest for power and influence. Despite Jonas' best efforts to intervene, Cynthia and Devon's merciless love sets into motion a wave of destruction that crashes down on Devon's graceful wife Lady Anne, his daughter Marianne, his colleague and lover Dixie, Cynthia's hen-pecked husband Chet, her evil son Winston, the scheming Generals and far beyond.
Cast
- Tobey Maguire as Devon Morehouse, Jonas's adopted son[2]
- Kristen Wiig as Cynthia Morehouse, Jonas's daughter and Devon's adopted sister.[2]
- Tim Robbins as Jonas Morehouse, an entrepreneur in the oil industry[2]
- Jessica Alba as Dixie Melonworth, a marine biologist and Devon's new love interest.[2]
- Val Kilmer as a United States Army general[2]
- Haley Joel Osment as Winston Morehouse, Cynthia's evil son[2]
- Michael Sheen as Chet Halner, Cynthia's husband[2]
- Will Ferrell as Eric Jonrosh, "Author, Producer, Actor, Writer, Director, Raconteur, Bon Vivant, Legend, Fabulist" of the series.[2] Ferrell as Jonrosh also plays Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the final episode.[2]
- Steve Tom as General Maddoxton[2]
- Jelly Howie as Marianne Morehouse
- Phillip Wampler as Devon Morehouse (Young)
- Isabella Acres as Cynthia Morehouse (Young)
- Carey Mulligan (voice) as Lady Anne York, Devon Morehouse's mannequin wife[3]
- Marc Evan Jackson as Bank Man[2]
Production
The miniseries began principal photography on June 2, 2013 in Los Angeles.[1]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Foundling" | Matt Piedmont | Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele | January 9, 2014 | 0.440[4] |
| 2 | "The War Within" | Matt Piedmont | Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele | January 9, 2014 | 0.440[4] |
| 3 | "Kicking the Habit" | Matt Piedmont | Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele | January 16, 2014 | 0.155[5] |
| 4 | "The Rise of the Empire" | Matt Piedmont | Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele | January 23, 2014 | 0.208[6] |
| 5 | "The Age of the Bastard" | Matt Piedmont | Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele | January 30, 2014 | 0.151[7] |
| 6 | "So Sweet the Bells" | Matt Piedmont | Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele | February 6, 2014 | 0.077[8] |
Companion series
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The series was enough of a success for the network to prompt a second Spoils miniseries, The Spoils Before Dying, which debuted on July 8, 2015.[9]
References
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- Official website
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). The Spoils of Babylon at IMDb
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- ↑ Berman, Marc (July 9, 2014). IFC Orders Second Season of "Spoils" Franchise. TV Media Insights. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using infobox television with editor parameter
- Official website not in Wikidata
- IFC (American TV channel) original programming
- 2010s American television miniseries
- English-language television programming
- 2014 American television series debuts
- Independent Film Channel network shows
- Television series by Funny or Die
