"It might say 'Dick and Reggie argue about who ate the cookies,' but it's up to the actors to decide how it's going to play out. The dialogue is 100-percent unscripted. Improvisation is what makes it work as a mock doc. People don't speak in perfect witty lines. And being out in the real world, in a real house, helped it feel authentic and helped us improvise."
The feedback Gray gets from fans indicates that the show appeals to viewers who "aren't necessarily into mainstream American sitcoms." Besides the Spinal Tap and Trailer Park Boys comparisons, Gray offers a surprising addition: "I compare us to The Hills sometimes. One of the tones of the show is getting into really dramatic interpersonal stuff, soap opera-esque."
The aspirations of the men are both exasperating and endearing. "We've never made it, we don't deserve to make it, and we're probably never going to make it" is the way Gray puts it. However, "I think there's a universal appeal of the rock band. We're a group of pretty unintelligent, untalented doofuses trying to make it. They almost think they're entitled to this rock stardom, but they're naïve about how they're going to get there."
"There's people you root for and people you root against. My character, Barry, he's at least nominally a nice guy, he puts up all the money for the band and he's basically a doormat. So you can't help but root for him because he doesn't deserve the treatment he's getting from the rest of the guys. Whereas Reggie, the lead singer, has the most talent but he's also the most vain and the most pretentious. So he's kind of the villain and you're hoping he'll get his comeuppance. But because it's like a family, you do want to see them succeed."
Fans may be rooting for Cock'd Gunns the band to succeed, but they're definitely rooting for Cock'd Gunns the show to succeed with a second season. If the season one replay does well enough, at least one of those dreams might come true.
Article comments
1 - Lor
Just finished watching the entire first season of this show and it was nothing short of brilliant. It is unbelievably hilarious. Definitely rooting for a second season. I am totally addicted and can't get enough of Reggie and the gang!
2 - Grinderman
I discovered that show by pure hazard one evening on IFC and got totally hooked.
The originality is definitely there. The freshness of the show also provides an outlet I didn't know existed. I'm sure there are a lot of people like me out there who can no longer watch the standard "sitcom". It insults my intelligence to a level I can no longer tolerate.
Fans of the show should also try to see "Hard Core Logo". Another wonderful little cinematographic and musical jewel.
Grinderman