Alex Anfanger and Dan Schimpf created and independently produced the six-episode first season of “Next Time on Lonny” back in 2011. Their work caught the eye of Ben Stiller, who signed on to co-produce the 10-episode second season through his Red Hour Digital production company. Stiller himself filmed a promotional video for the big premiere, though he was held hostage to do so.
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He was held by Anfanger, who portrays Lonny in the comedy series, who quickly loses control of the situation after getting some praise for the show from Stiller. In fact, things don’t end well for Stiller at all, as he gets shot in the gut. But the video gives a good idea of what kind of humor can be found in the full episodes of “Next Time on Lonny.”
The second season reboots the show a bit, relocating Lonny to Los Angeles. A parody of reality shows, the major conceit of the series is its focus and emphasis on the “next time on” portion of a television series. The actual show is a rather mundane exploration of Brooklyn-native Lonny as he relocates to a new city and tries to find love and figure his life out.
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Once the “next time on” triggers, though, his life goes absolutely insane. The bulk of each episode is an extensive look at what’s going to happen in the next episode, and includes insane things like alien invasions, bank heists and political scandals. But then, none of that really happens, as the next episode picks up Lonny’s mundane life in the city.
Season 2 features a wide array of guest stars including Adam Scott, Patton Oswalt, Paul Scheer, Jerry O’Connell, Haley Joel Osment, Stephen Tobolowsky, Kal Penn, KassemG, EpicLLOYD, Beth Dover, Kathy Baker, Beck Bennett, and Jon Daly.
Schimpf directs Anfangar in the title role. “Next Time on Lonny” is executive produced by Anfanger, Schimpf, Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfield, Mike Rosenstein, and Debbie Liebling, with the entire second season presented by Verizon.
Also read: Comedy Central Greenlights Ben Stiller-Produced ‘Big Time in Hollywood, FL,’ ‘Moonbeam City’
The first three episodes are available now at Maker.TV and Maker’s YouTube channel, Nacho Punch. New episodes will be available every Tuesday and Thursday at Maker.TV, and every Wednesday and Friday on Nacho Punch.