Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Hawk

Episode Date: July 20, 2026

Will Ferrell stars as a past-his-prime golfer in the new Netflix series, The Hawk. If you loved watching him play self-absorbed athletes in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Blades of Glory, you might be into this too. He reunited with some funny former collaborators like Molly Shannon, Luke Wilson, and Chris Parnell. The Frat Pack vibes are high, but does this old school sports comedy feel fresh or stuck in the past?If you want more big goofy gags, check out these episodes:‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass’ is a fun dumb time at the movies'Stop! That! Train!' goes off the rails in a good wayConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport Pop Culture Happy Hour+See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Look, Will Ferrell is starring in his very first sitcom The Hawk, and the show's perfectly pithy theme song gives you pretty much all the setup you need. Yes, that is the whole theme song. Might be the best part of the show, if I'm being honest. But look, the role of a pro golfer known as Hawk isn't really a stretch for Farrell, which is to say if you've loved watching him play these self-absorbed goofballs and stuff like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory, maybe you'll be into this too. Plus, he's reunited with some funny collaborators

from throughout his career, Molly Shannon, Luke Wilson, Chris Parnell. The frat pack vibes are very high, but they're filtered through a very of-the-moment lens, I'd say. I'm Aisha Harris, and joining me today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is a journalist and host of the movie review podcast Seated, Trevelle Anderson. Hello, Trevelle. Hello, Aisha. I'm excited for this one.

Ooh, me too. Also with us is Ronald Young Jr. He's the host of the film and television review podcast leaving the theater. Hey, Ronald. Long time, no see, Aisha. Glad to be here with you. Ah, yes. Always, always a pleasure.

So look, a lot goes down over the course of the Hawks' 10 episodes, but the gist is this. Will Ferrell's playing Lonnie Hawkins, a passes prime golfer on a relentless quest to clinch a career grand slam. But he's carrying tons of personal baggage that threatens to derail his aims, most notably a rivalry with his troubled son, Lance, who's followed in his dad's footsteps and is also a successful pro golfer. Lance is played by Jimmy Taitro. You'll know Taitro from the first season of American Bandle or more recently the action comedy movie, Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice. The Hawk is streaming on Netflix. And Ronald, I'm going to start with you.

I have a sense of how you feel about this show, but tell me. Tell everyone. Tell us all. Were you into The Hawk? Okay. So when the show started, I didn't like it. and they were leaning into Will Ferrell and his will feralness, and they were trying to kind of get that old thing back, as I would say.

They were playing the hits early on. You are a ball. I am a man, the classic redemption story. We both come from humble beginnings, yet together we will reach unimaginable heights. And then Fortune Feimster shows up, and I felt like it got a lot better when there was interplay between the two of them,

but inexplicably, they, kind of couch fortune fiefster in a way. She becomes kind of background or only a setup to more Will Ferrell jokes. And the show just kind of spirals into one long fratty, nonsensical slog for the rest of the episodes. By the time I got to the final episodes, I was just like, please, just be over already. And it's an unsatisfying ending. I'm not rooting for anyone by the time it's over.

I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be rooting for. I don't know who the protagonist are. was only rooting for Fortune Feepster. Molly Shannon also great job. But other than that, I'm not sure why we were here, except for the fact that they wanted to give Will Ferrell some money, it seems like. So Fortune Feimster, I agree she was the best part of the show. She is playing Sam, who eventually becomes Lonnie Hawkins' new caddy

after his previous caddy and his best friend confidant who's played by Keith David, Old Henry. He just dies on the golf course. within the first 10, 15 minutes of this show. And Sam steps in and she becomes sort of his sidekick, but the sidekick who, I think, like, at least like myself, doesn't know anything about golf, doesn't care about golf? Yes. Did you know chickens can memorize over 100 faces?

Where did you say you caddy before? Oh, I didn't, because I haven't. The only time I've been on a golf course was doing donuts in high school. And yes, Molly Shannon is playing Stacy, Lonnie's estranged wife, which I guess gives a lot of comedic. Is it comedy? I don't know. Trayvell, I need to hear from you before I say any more.

Yeah, I'm right there with Ronald. I did not enjoy this from the beginning, if I big honest. Fortune is the best part. And I think in so many ways the Hawk was trying to give us that, uh-a-a-a-sensation of yesteryear. It just didn't work. I was looking for something more, something different. It felt like one of those movies that you'll just, you know, it'll be number one on Netflix

because we'll put it on and then we'll go wash dishes or something. You know what I mean? That's the vibe and the energy it gave. Yes, yes. I think I'm a little bit softer on this than both of you. Look, I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm going to return to this anytime soon or ever. I came ready to fight, Aisha, so be careful where you guys. with this.

Look, I agree that it kind of throws a lot of darts at the wall or throws a lot of puts. I don't know golf. It does things. It tries to do a lot of things. And it goes from being sort of this quest for the career grand slam. But then also, you know, Lance, his son, Will Ferrell's character's son, has a gambling addiction amongst many other issues. I think you can't have a sports show. that's set in the present day now without having that aspect of it.

I at least admire the fact that they try to incorporate something that feels true to the way sports are consumed and the way sports are played. I don't know if the comedic side of that works. I think it takes kind of a lighthearted approach. It tries to balance the darkness of what's going on with Lance's character with, with like the world of Will Ferro, which I don't think those worlds mess very well. There's also so many product placement. They're everywhere.

I think that's where this is, like, there's a sensibility here that feels like it is trying to call back to Tal Daganites and whatnot, especially, you know, when you think about NASCAR, when you think about, well, any sports, it's all about corporate interests. So you get all these references to, like, middle American franchises, like Chili's and Red Lobster. Carrabas. Outback. Yes. Outback. Outback. Yes.

High pies. Mike's Hard Lemonade. All of them. Yes. I mean, they're not. just in the background. It's like they're incorporated into the script. And then the side? The most perfect baked potato. I mean, just swimming in sour cream and chives. Oh, you're making me hungry, life. And here's the crazy thing. It's just a random outback

somewhere outside of Dallas, you know? I sure could use some of them blooming onions they got. There's a very kind of 2000 sensibility that sort of frat-pack feel that, like, I'm not sure entirely gels with where we are at now. But like, overall, the nostalgia, though, like, I feel I feel like there were moments that I enjoy. Like, I like all of these performers, but there's not much to hang your hat on here, right? So I think the biggest problem, and I think this would have fixed this immediately, just make it a movie. Make it a movie. We could have been in and out.

That they dragged this out. There are scenes that have no business being as long as they are. There's a whole funeral that happens in the show. The Hawk, Will Ferrell, is unable to make it to the funeral. And there's a part I was thinking where if this were a movie, this was a movie, this was a probably would have been a two to three minute sequence where he shows up late, essentially, right? And the fact that that took 22 minutes for them to get to the point, which wasn't much of a point by the time that they got there. So I didn't understand. And there's multiple

sequences like that in the show where I immediately thought, if this had been a movie, it would have sped along and it would have worked. But I think the fact that they stretched it out into a television show is what, to me, is mostly what kills what we like about Will Ferrell, especially in this environment. If it was 90 minutes, you're absolutely right. We'd be having perhaps a different kind of conversation, but because they feel the need to fill, you know, 10 episodes with stuff, we end up getting, you know, back and forth about boner jokes, for example, you know, extended.

Oh, but you like those, Aisha, I think. You're laughing. No, no, I'm, no, those are my least paper parts. Okay, good. Same. But yes, there are bode jokes. There are also, you know, long extended sequence of the thong song. I love that song as much as the next person.

I think it's a classic. I will never turn that off if it comes on. But do I need Will Ferrell, like, mouthing the words to the thong song on a golf course? It would keep David in the back. Like, no. But that would be like the post-credit sequence. I think that that is the problem, right?

It's like you are trying to both tap into that nostalgia of what Will Ferrell has meant to, multiple generations of people. And also what, like, someone like Molly Shannon has meant to multiple generations of people. But then, like, Will Ferro's character is just kind of baffling in not just his quest for what he wants to do, but also in just, like, being, I feel like it's calcified, right? Like, the Anchorman, the Ron Burgundy, that felt like very pointed satire. We're here, I think we're supposed to actually, like, kind of like this dude, even though he is awful? Like, he's an awful parent. He's not at all

attentive to anyone else's desires or needs. He literally, like, steals a piece of property off of his dead caddy. Like, that was the other thing that, like, if you're going to have Keep David. Yes, problematic. Wow. Play a character named Old Henry, who is a caddy. Yeah, what was that? Yes. Yes. And at one point, there is a legend of Bagger Vance reference, but, like, not related to his character. Of course.

I've seen a black person play golf in like three days. Well, they play. They play all the time. Okay. Tiger Woods. Uh-huh. That's who you got? Yeah.

It's very obvious. Bagger vans. Fictional. And so I was just like, we're just going to kind of dance around this whole weird racial dynamic between that character and this character. And then you kill him off. Like, it may be so angry. Like, why do you cast Keith David and kill him off?

And I feel the same way about Molly Shannon, where I'm like, I hate to use a word. but unlikable, but like, I don't understand who this character is and why we're supposed to care about her. She's very focused on her new alcoholic drink called teed off, which is a, you know, a golf play. Ha, ha, ha. But yeah, I don't know. There's just something, something just, like, very kind of about it.

But at the same time, again, I kind of liked it. I don't know. Well, we've got a lot more to talk about, and we'll be right back after this break. Welcome back. If you're into what you've heard on PCH, you'll love what we're sending out in our newsletter. Every week we catch you up on hot topics, recommend your next watch or listen, and go deep into the cultural stories we didn't cover on the show. Subscribe today at npr.org slash pop culture newsletter. Ronald, what are you thinking about?

I just, I got to point out, we were talking characters, the Natalie character. I was utterly baffled by that character. Caitlin Tarver. Yes. She shows up early. I don't know if she's good or bad. And then she's gone. And I don't understand what her impact was supposed to be.

If we just go technically and just say the pacing was weird and that the character development was all muddied. And to say that it doesn't rise to a level that's funny enough to outpace those basic issues to say like, hey, is Lance good or bad? Is Lonnie good or bad? And my thing is, even if they're not, even if they're somewhere in the middle, you're not even doing a good nuanced job of dictating that to us based on their interactions with each other because it seems like they're all bad enough that they should all get along a lot better

without kind of this weird family tension between the three of them, specifically between Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, and Jimmy Tatro as Lance Stacey and Lonnie. Yeah. Yeah. And Natalie is playing at the beginning of the show Lance's fiancé, right? And so there's also a weird dynamic between her character and then the Molly Shannon character. Basically, Molly Shannon is playing a boy mom and it's kind of weird and gross. And Natalie, his fiance, points it out rightfully so.

Your mom runs up and kisses you after every round you play. Only if I win. Well, maybe when you win today, you could kiss me instead of your mom. That's the thing, right? Like, we have so many characters and so much plot. It gets to the point where, like all of these movies of that previous area and shows, like like this. They always have to amp up the escalation. But the way it ends is just clearly they think maybe there might be a second season, but I'm not sure. Oh, please, no. I don't know where that would go. Don't do it again. Please. No. But yes, you're right. They kind of end the show in that way.

Just make it a movie. Make it a second season movie. Yes, yes, yes. There's not that much to the show. I think that's the problem, right? The jokes aren't necessarily landing. That would be fine if maybe there was some dramatic tension here. But there isn't like, this show just, kind of exist, right? Yeah. I mean, I feel like it wants to be like unoffensive in its simplicity, but it also has this like raunchy, edgy air about it that I think is supposed to, you know, it's supposed to remind us of this style of a production that many of us are familiar with from the early 2000s

in particular. But for me, I just did not feel like there was any evolution. Yes. It feels like a movie that would have came out shortly after Blades of Glory, right? In terms of its style, in terms of what it's asking its characters to do. I will also say for myself, one of the co-writers of this is Harper Steel, Will Ferrell's longtime collaborator. They did a documentary on Netflix about Harper Steel coming out as a trans woman called

Will & Harper and developing their relationship and going cross-country. And so I was hoping for a little something fresh, a little something different, this go-around with this project. And it's not there, unfortunately. Well, look, sounds like we were not all fans of The Hawk, but we can't like everything. And also, you probably clicked on it. And maybe you felt the same or maybe you felt very differently. That's okay. That brings us to the end of our show, Trey Bell Anderson, Ronald Young Jr.

Thanks so much for being here. And, you know, they can all fly. It's okay. It is okay. Thank you, Aisha. Thanks for having me. This episode was produced by Liz Medsker, Hapsa, Bathema, and Mike Kassiv, and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello, Command, provides our theme music.

Thanks for listening to Popcorn or Happy Art from NPR. I'm Aisha Harris, and we'll see you all next time.