What? An actually good video game adaptation (that’s not The Last of Us) breaking viewing records after only two weeks? Praise the gaming gods! People just can’t get enough of the Peacock show Twisted Metal, and it recently earned the distinction of being the network’s most binged comedy show so far.
Twisted Metal, by the way, is based of a classic series of PlayStation games. It’s not like they’re in the public mind though (the last one came out in 2012), so it speaks to the popularity of the game after all these years as well as the quality of the show.
For those familiar with video game adaptations of yore, we know it could’ve been very, very bad. Twisted Metal isn’t necessarily known for its narrative qualities, but the show doesn’t really stray too much from what makes the games fun – cheesy humor, fast crazy cars and explosions.
It stars Anthony Mackie in the lead role, Stephanie Beatriz as his buddy Quiet, Neve Campbell as Raven and Will Arnett as the voice of Sweet Tooth, the crazy chainsaw wielding clown maniac.
The plot is simple: Mackie must deliver a package through an apocalyptic wasteland for a promise of a better life. on the way he runs into violent marauders in souped-up cars trying to kill him. Poetry!
Per Deadline, the show joins others on the network like Bel Air, Based on a True Story, Poker Face and The Best Man: Final Chapters as one of its top five shows ever. The show garnered 400 million viewing minutes the weekend after it premiered, which sounds impressive but what does it mean? No wonder everyone’s striking.
Speaking of the strike, Mackie gave an interview about the show before that happened, and he commented on how there wasn’t really much to go on story-wise.
“It was just a bunch of people, a bunch of cars, who do you want to fight?” he said. “So with the series, we were able to make that backstory and create that background to where now you’re invested in these characters. And when you go back and play the game, now you have a completely different relationship with those characters who are in the game.”
He also shared that even though the show hired professional drivers, he preferred to do his own car tricks when possible.
“We had a great group of drivers, and because of that a lot of the stuff we were able to do practically. I really got to drive 50 miles an hour around a mall with somebody chasing me. We really got to jump out of the front window and do all this crazy stuff, because our drivers were so talented,” Mackie said. “And some of the big stuff…when you see a car flying over a bridge, that wasn’t Anthony.”
Twisted Metal is currently streaming on Peacock.