The cast of Going Dutch knows that their fearless leader, Denis Leary, has a few doppelgängers in Hollywood. What’s more, they want to use the similar-looking actors to their advantage.
Ahead of their Going Dutch January 2 premiere on Fox, Leary and his co-stars — Community alum Danny Pudi and Dave actress Taylor Misiak — chatted with Decider and discussed everything from the importance of silly comedies in the current television landscape to welcoming comedic greats like Catherine Tate on the show.
Tate, who previously appeared on The Office and Doctor Who, is just one of the esteemed guest stars to join the freshman comedy over on FOX. Still, even so early into their life, the cast says they have big hopes for their goofball comedy about a high-ranking U.S. military official herding butterflies on a base in The Netherlands.
“I think it’d be fun to get Willem Dafoe,” said Misiak, who plays Captain Maggie Quinn, the estranged daughter of Leary’s Colonel Patrick Quinn.
“And Kevin Bacon,” added Leary, who also recently starred in Netflix’s No Good Deed with Lisa Kudrow and his Ice Age cast member Ray Romano. “They could be the Colonel’s brothers.”
The mere mention made his co-stars shriek with excitement at the idea of getting the Nosferatu and Footloose stars to come aboard for a special appearance. As Leary, Bacon, and Dafoe have long been mixed up for each other, it’s a situation that could actually unfold, even aspirationally. And since the show films in Europe, perhaps the two actors could be convinced to get a free trip out of the experience.
“That would be a casting coup, I bet you we could do that,” Leary said. “If we wrote a really funny episode where my brother, who’s maybe not even in the military, comes to visit. And Dafoe or Bacon — or both, both my brothers [could come].”
“I feel like I just got an EP [executive producer] credit,” joked Misiak.Pudi, who plays XO Major Abraham Shah, added, “You just figured out Season 2.”
The show hasn’t been renewed for a second season yet but hopefully, the prospect of a Leary, Dafoe, and Bacon crossover event (can we call it that?) will sell the pitch. Can someone get their managers on the phone and start ironing out the details?
In the brand new FOX comedy, Leary plays Colonel Patrick Quinn, a straight-laced decorated servicemember who is sent to lead the troops at a deeply unserious U.S. Army base in The Netherlands. Colonel Quinn’s assignment to Stroopsdorf is a punishment for going on a rant of epic proportions against his boss (Joe Morton) and therefore a breeding ground for comedic nuggets of gold about his disdain for the Dutch, the job, and everything in between.
Upon arrival, Colonel Quinn — with his trusted right-hand man (Pudi) in tow — he discovers that the real punishment is being sent to the one and only base where his estranged daughter, Maggie, is the acting leader. What ensues is a battle of wits, weapons, and weird Dutch traditions that the elder Quinn cannot help but roll his eyes at.
You can watch a first look at Going Dutch Season 1 in the player below:
Going Dutch premieres on Fox on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 9:30 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Hulu.