Jews in Space and Hitler on Ice might finally happen! Forty years after Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part I hit theaters, Hulu is developing the long-awaited follow-up, History of the World, Part II. Brooks will be involved as a writer and executive producer, alongside comedians Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Ike Barinholtz. Production is set to start in Spring 2022 and the writers began working on the scripts this month, reports Variety.
Following a series of feature-length parodies like Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, Brooks wrote and directed History of the World, Part I, an anthology film that spoofed various historical and Biblical epics. The movie included sketches set during the Stone Age, the Old Testament, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. The 1981 movie ends with a series of teasers for coming attractions, including Hiler on Ice, Jews in Space, and an epic Viking funeral. At the time, the joke was that Brooks never intended to actually make Part II.
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“I can’t wait to once more tell the real truth about all the phony-baloney stories the world has been conned into believing are History,” Brooks told Variety. The new series will be produced by Searchlight Television and 20th Television. It will run eight episodes. David Stassen (The Mindy Project) and Kevin Salter (Young Frankenstein Live) are also on the writing team.
Brooks is a member of the EGOT club, owning an Oscar for The Producers, four Emmys, three Grammys, and three Tony Awards. His other movies include Spaceballs, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Brooks also produced David Lynch’s The Elephant Man and the 2005 film adaptation of The Producers musical.
Brooks’ most recent Emmy nominations came for his specials Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again (2012), Mel Brooks Strikes Back: With Mel Brooks and Alan Yentob (2013), and Mel Brooks: Live at the Geffen (2015). He also earned a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for The Comedians (2015).
Kroll is best known for his Comedy Central series Kroll Show and co-created the Netflix animated series Big Mouth. Sykes is a beloved stand-up comedian, recently starring in episodes of Black-ish, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Netflix’s The Upshaws. Barinholtz starred in The Mindy Project, The League, Bless the Harts, and MadTV.
