Peacock’s Mr. Throwback is an interesting hybrid, a combination of sitcom and sports documentary satire that also marks the pairing of a major comedy presence and a Team USA Olympian and NBA MVP acting as you’ve never seen him before.
So, how did this blending of elements come together? We can all thank a celebrity game show.
Finding Chemistry with Mr. Throwback Star Stephen Curry
According to executive producer David Caspe –– who co-created the new series with his Happy Endings collaborators Adam Pally (who also stars), Daniel Libman, and Matthew Libman –– the road to Mr. Throwback began back in 2022, with About Last Night, the celebrity unscripted series hosted by Stephen and Ayesha Curry. The show featured various stars teaming up with their spouses for a game that challenged their willingness to answer awkward, raunchy, and intriguing questions about their relationships. Among the guests during the eight-episode run were Pally and his wife Daniella, and Caspe and his wife, Happy Endings star Casey Wilson.
“I would never normally do any television show that I’m on camera for out of pure fear and embarrassment,” Caspe told NBC Insider, “but my wife is an actress and she was asked to do this TV show that Ayesha and Stephen hosted. And I had to do it because I’m a huge basketball fan and a huge Stephen Curry fan. And we did it and we had a great time and hit it off with Stephen.”
Curry’s chemistry with Caspe and Pally on the show (though the two appeared on different episodes) caught the eye of producer Erick Peyton, co-founder of Curry’s production company, Unanimous Media. With that chemistry in mind, Peyton encouraged Pally and Caspe to develop a project where they could collaborate further with Curry, which sent the pair into a brainstorm session with the Libman brothers to get the right idea.
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“Stephen’s production company, headed by the great Erick Peyton, reached out to both of us saying, ‘Do you guys possibly have an idea for Stephen to act in?’ And we were like, ‘Holy s–t, that’s incredible,'” Caspe said. “And we didn’t have an idea, but of course we said we did. And then we quickly called the Libman Brothers and all of us got on a Zoom and started talking and trying to brainstorm an idea and pretty quickly landed on what is pretty similar to what you see on your screen now. And that was it.”
Writing Jokes for NBA Superstar Steph Curry
Mr. Throwback’s basic plot follows a desperate sports memorabilia dealer named Danny Grossman (Pally), who was a great basketball player as a teenager and, once upon a time, was childhood best friends with NBA great Steph Curry (Curry, playing a fictionalized version of himself). When Danny gets in trouble, he reconnects with Steph in an effort to get some quick cash, but quickly gets in deeper than he ever imagined. With that initial hook in place, the concept went to Peyton, who was intrigued and arranged a meeting with Curry. It was there that the Unanimous Media co-founder realized they had something special.
“We did a Zoom with Stephen and they all pitched out the concept to SC and he dug it,” Peyton recalled to NBC Insider. “But more than anything, I saw the chemistry between all of them, right? I think you get all these pitches and they pitch out their show, and that’s great. But then it’s really the 10, 15 minutes after the pitch of people doing bits and suggestions of stories and just the vibe that was created, especially between Pally and SC. We shot a little sizzle with both of them and the rest is history.”
So, what’s it like writing jokes for Steph Curry? According to Caspe and the Libmans, the NBA icon was just as driven to push his comedy skills as he is to push himself on the court.
“Honestly, the only note we ever got back from his team was, ‘Go harder,’ Caspe said. “He wanted to have fun and to give him more comedy, fun stuff to do and just go for it. Really, and they were such great collaborators that we never really felt any anxiety sending him scripts or anything. We were just excited for him to see them and excited to hear his point of view. And he was always like a ‘Yes, and’ guy. He was like, ‘That’s terrific. What if we also did this?’ And, ‘Oh, this is something from my actual life that happens and why don’t we incorporate that?’ And he was incredible to work with.”
Mr. Throwback premieres August 8 on Peacock.