Paramount Network and top producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard presented their new dramedy 68 Whiskey at the Television Critics’Association winter press tour today along with Paramount Network.
Were you a fan of M*A*S*H? Ensembles set in stressful war situations?
Paramount Network’s new military dramedy, 68 Whiskey is taking a page from the format and tone of “M*A*S*H” — with Korea swapped out for Afghanistan as the setting for US Army personnel treating soldiers injured or killed in wartime.
The series is filmed in Santa Clarita, California, which series creator Roberto Benabib said the cast and crew often referred to as Santa Clarita-stan.
He also said that what makes 68 Whiskey click is that these soldiers are new on the scene and that most are on their first deployment. They won’t be dealing head-on with PTSD at the start of the show.
Of the authenticity questions, Benabib says they have employed real veterans on the series’ writing staff as well as military consultants. Together they do a lot of vetting of the turned-in scripts. He said when they come up with something comical, the military guys say, “That’s how it is.”
On panel at TCA today was the group called “The Orphanage,” which are the cast along with the executive producers Ron Howard (remote feed) plus Brian Grazer, Roberto Benabib and cast Sam Keeley, Gage Golightly, Nicholas Coombe, Jeremy Tardy, Cristina Rodlo, Beth Riesgraf, Lamont Thompson, and Derek Theler, who said: “I was excited to take on this role and get as big and hairy as I can.”
Theler plays a character named Sasquatch n the series, plus one reporter, Kate O’Hare of Patheos noted:
Derek Theler, the actor playing “Sasquatch” in #68WhiskeyTV is 6’7″, 245 (his Wikipedia says 6’5″). Born in Alaska, his Wikipedia bio says he has played football, but apparently was not a top tight end in college (shocking, I know). #TCA20 https://t.co/aO2Nd1GIQl
— Kate O’Hare (@KateOHareWrites) January 14, 2020
The 10-episode series, premiering Wednesday, Jan. 15, is produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment and is more a tightly woven ensemble that seems familiar to fans of shows like Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire.
The official description from Paramount:
Army medics are deployed to a base in Afghanistan nicknamed “The Orphanage”; together, they endure a dangerous world that leads to self-destructive appetites, outrageous behavior, intense camaraderie and, occasionally, a profound sense of purpose.
68 Whiskey airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Paramount Network.