The Twisted Metal TV Series Is A Total Blast – And There May Be A Secret Reason For Its Success
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being reviewed here wouldn't exist.
Video games have the ability to transport players to interactive worlds beyond their wildest imagination, defeat bosses to become the hero they wish they could be in real life, and step inside an identity that they wouldn't otherwise understand. Or, in the case of a game like "Twisted Metal," drive an armored ice cream truck and blow up enemies with a remote-controlled rocket launcher. The vehicular combat video game was the lifeblood of the Dorito-dusted finger lickers of America in the late '90s and early 00s, and while there is a story players can follow ... most people opt to obliterate their pals with nuclear weapons. Yet, somehow, Peacock adapted the game into one of the most entertaining new series of the year.
And I shouldn't be surprised. I was on board the second I saw the teaser clip of Anthony Mackie's John Doe duking it out with Sweet Tooth (body by Joe "Samoa Joe" Seanoa, voice of Will Arnett) in a casino set to "The Thong Song" by Sisqó, but what did surprise me was learning that I was not alone. "Twisted Metal" feels like the kind of gory comedy a handful of us weirdos would scream about into the void while everyone ignores us to rewatch "The Office" for the hundredth time, but according to Deadline, "Twisted Metal" is Peacock's "most-binged" comedy, with the average account watching about three episodes per sitting, but plenty have sat through all 10 episodes in a single viewing window.
It's me. I'm plenty. Hey, at least there was one positive outcome to being bedridden with COVID-19.
You can't spell slaughter without laughter
The series comes from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the duo who gave us "Deadpool" and "Zombieland." It's clear that "Twisted Metal" is right in their wheelhouse (pun intended), delivering high-octane action sequences, unexpected (and explosive) gore, and plenty of laughs. People lose limbs! Buildings explode! Blood spurts out in ways that would make Sam Raimi sit back and go, "Nice."
The series is led by Mackie, Seanoa/Arnett, and Stephanie Beatriz as Quiet, but comedy greats and beloved character actors pop up left and right. Some of my personal favorites have been Chloe Fineman from "Saturday Night Live," the always hilarious Jason Mantzoukas, and Thomas Haden Church getting to do what he does best — play an evil authority figure who is also kind of a weenie.
"Twisted Metal" centers on motormouthed milkman John Doe, who is given a mission to deliver an unexplained package in exchange for a utopian life in New San Francisco, an idyllic community away from the post-apocalyptic wasteland that has become America. In order to deliver the package, he must travel across the country evading marauders, death cults, and psychotic killers. It sounds like something out of "Mad Max," but it comes with the pitch-black sense of humor of an Adult Swim show. There's a fine line to walk with such a violent laugh-fest, but "Twisted Metal" threads the needle with a thousand bullets. It's also got a shocking amount of heart examining the way people build community and friendships in a kill-or-be-killed society. It would have been so easy for "Twisted Metal" to become a cheeseball schlockfest ... which it is! But in the best ways possible.
The needle drops are unmatched
Music can make or break a series, and "Twisted Metal" is quietly delivering a masterclass in the art of music supervision. Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson have crafted a really compelling score, but some of the licensing decisions are downright brilliant. Two women reconciling their love? Gotta play t.A.T.u's "All the Things She Said." Captured and tortured like prisoners of war? Why, you have to play "Barbie Girl" by Aqua! There's even a sex scene between John Doe and Stephanie Beatriz' Quiet in a ball pit to the tune of "Tipsy" by J-Kwon that immediately inspired me to add the locale to my "F*** It Bucket List."
"Twisted Metal" isn't just married to a single genre either. "Epic" by Faith No More, "Roads" by Portishead, "Party Hard" by Andrew W.K., "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by Ol' Dirty Bastard, "Steal My Sunshine" by LEN, and even "Mmmbop" by Hanson are all prominently featured. This is a show that features extreme violence and plenty of gore, but the music choices keep the series from ever feeling too serious. Watching someone explode while simultaneously chuckling at a song choice allows there to be a safe distance from the carnage to keep the show grounded in comedy.
There's even a semi-serious moment in episode 8, "EV3L1N" where John Doe reflects on his childhood and relationship with his car ... but it's set to the ultimate teenage goth song-to-cry-to "My Immortal" by Evanescence. It's a song that has been memed as equally as it has been played at funerals (and the ballad I sang at my eighth-grade talent show in 2004, thankyouverymuch), so as emotionally impactful as the scene is on screen, it's hard to fight the intrusive thought of "LOL, they're really playing Evanescence right now."
The creative team is unbelievable
Kitao Sakurai ("The Eric Andre Show"), Maggie Carey ("The To Do List"), Alison Tafel ("Bojack Horseman"), Alyssa Forleiter ("Cobra Kai"), Francesca & Jacqueline Gailes ("She-Hulk: Attorney at Law"), Michael Jonathan Smith ("Cobra Kai"), Jude Weng ("The Good Place," "Only Murders in the Building"), Grant Dekernion ("The Righteous Gemstones"), Shaun Diston ("Wrecked"), Bill Benz ("Portlandia," "At Home with Amy Sedaris"), and Ify Nwadiwe ("@midnight," "Critical Role") are just some of the credited writers and directors. The Writers Guild of America is currently on strike and one of the main points of contention is the need for writers room staffing minimums. "Twisted Metal" is the perfect example of why having a variety of diverse, talented voices on staff is always a good thing.
These brilliant people made up the writers room of season one. We just want a fair deal so we can all get back to work, and work together to keep making amazing shows like Twisted Metal.
I hope the AMPTP comes to the table in a real way, and soon. pic.twitter.com/O6UczWKDas
— Michael Jonathan (@beardymcwhisker) August 10, 2023
I was too poor for a gaming console of my own, so I only got to play "Twisted Metal" whenever I was hanging out with my kids in my neighborhood who had it, which usually meant kids who viewed Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit as a God or recreationally ate worms on the playground to freak people out. Obviously, I'm not trying to generalize all fans of the game as a bunch of worm-eaters mad at their dads, but the nu-metal era where "Twisted Metal" thrived was a disastrous time, and had this show been staffed by people who all share the same perspective and lived experiences ... this could have been an edgelord slog. Instead, we have jokes that are so clearly written by a variety of people with a wide sundry of what they find funny. Comedies also run the risk of feeling too "samey" when one person is in charge of the jokes, but "Twisted Metal" is not that show.
As far as I'm concerned, Peacock has been the underdog in the streaming wars with consistently great original series (for the love of all that is holy, please watch Craig Robinson's "Killing It"), and "Twisted Metal" is truly something special. The season finale perfectly set up season 2, which we better get (with WGA demands met, of course), or I'm going to have to invest in an ice cream truck and launch napalm cones about it.