'Spoils of Babylon' Dramatizes Real Teasers for Fake Miniseries

01.08.2014

​"The Spoils of Babylon" (produced by ) is an adaptation of a fake bestselling novel written by fake author, Eric Jonrosh.

The dramatic series is a parody of popular epic miniseries from the '80s, and will appear in the form of six half-hour episodes on IFC. Faux author Jonrosh (played by Funny or Die's ) even gave the press his take on the TV event:

"I'm thrilled my masterwork is finally making it to the screen, albeit the small screen. Although I guess these days people have pretty big screens in their homes but still not as big as 'the big screen.' I mean, some people who have home theaters might have screens that big, but most wouldn't, at least that's what I would imagine. Still, I'm thrilled, and I personally DO have a giant screen TV so…"

Leading up to what IFC is billing as an "epic television event," the series has released teasers, trailers, behind-the-scenes videos and dramatic readings to hype the premiere. The series stars Tobey Maguire, Kristen Wiig, , Tim Robbins, Val Kilmer, and Will Ferrell (though they're all given fake actor names as well as character names in the show):

"The Spoils of Babylon," adapted from just one of Jonrosh's many fake novels, chronicles the story of the Morehouse family over the years, namely patriarch Robbins, daughter Wiig and adopted son Maguire. Drama includes drugs, business, heartache and (why not?) international espionage.

Starting way back in September, IFC released one of the first looks at "Babylon" in the form of a dramatic reading on YouTube:

After whetting IFC fans' appetites, a full trailer debuted in October with the copy "after decades of anticipation, Eric Jonrosh's best-selling novel is coming to television." The two-minute trailer shows short clips from various times in the Morehouse saga, namely arguments, breakdowns, passionate embraces and romantic lines like "I kicked heroin - I can't kick you."

Closer to the premiere in December, IFC began to ramp up its video releases on YouTube with close-up character portraits, managing to find humor in "Babylon's" intensity. The first is narrated by Maguire as Devon Morehouse, adopted son to the Morehouse clan.

One week before the premiere, a :30 trailer called "Get Spoiled" hyped the upcoming premiere using big names, short clips and Wiig's unexplained screaming.

And finally, this week we were all treated to "The Spoils of Babylon's" theme song and opening sequence, with a James Bond-esque tune and general retro feel. It also includes the credits, which largely includes references to author Eric Jonrosh.

IFC's "The Spoils of Babylon," the epic event that promises to change television, debuts Thursday, Jan. 9 at 10 p.m.

[Image courtesy of IFC]