‘Galavant’ Is Must-See TV Tonight [Video]
Galavant just might be the hero TV needs right now.
It’s that depressing time of year when most shows are taking winter breaks, so if you’re tired of reruns, you definitely should check out ABC’s shiny new comedy/action/fantasy tonight.
According to Playbill, the fairy tale series focuses on the adventures of a hero named Galavant (Josh Sasse). Galavant loses his ladylove Madalena (Mallory Jansen) to the deliciously devious King Richard (Timothy Omundson), and he mopes around a bit after learning that she doesn’t miss him at all — she actually enjoys the fame and fortune that comes with being married to a king.
Luckily, Galavant starts to get his groove back when Princess Isabella Lucia Maria Elizabetta of Valencia (Karen David) asks him to help save her kingdom from King Richard. He gets back to adventuring with a little help from his squire Sid, who Community fans will recognize as Magnitude (Luke Youngblood). During their journey, Galavant and his trusty sidekicks will face off against many fearsome foes, including a pirate king played by Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville.
Galavant is obviously hoping to appeal to Once Upon a Time fans with its fairy tale setting, but it’s going to be much heavier on the comedy. Slate compares it to Monty Python’s Spamalot, and there also appear to be hints of The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men In Tights in previews for the series. Galavant is the brainchild of Tangled director Dan Fogelman, so it has just a dash of Disney magic.
Because it’s a comedy, the new series’ plot isn’t as important as it is on Once Upon a Time. Some OUAT fans might be turned off by the show’s slower pace, but Galavant has something that Once doesn’t — it’s loaded with musical numbers. You’ll definitely want to tune if it drove you crazy that Elsa never belted out “Let It Go” while visiting Storybrooke. The series’ musical numbers are the masterpieces of composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) and lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled).
Slate calls Galavant “the oddest show to arrive on television in quite some time.” This should be a major turn-on for viewers who are bored with series that follow the same basic formula. If you’re still not sold on the series, consider its incredible list of guest stars. The Inquisitr previously reported that John Stamos will guest star as a devilishly handsome knight named Jean Hamm, and his handsome mug is just one of many familiar faces that will pop up on the show. Look out for Ricky Gervais as a magician named Xanax who amuses himself by turning a frog into a man (instead of vice versa), and Weird Al Yankovic as a singing monk. According to Deadline, Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) will play King Richard’s “older, bigger and more badass brother” Kingsley.
You can check out two clips from Galavant below and be sure to catch two back-to-back episodes of the show tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
[Image credit: ABC]
