“No topics is off limits” is the tagline for B.J. Novak’s newest project The Premise and based on the series first trailer, we’d say that’s pretty damn apt. The surreal FX series coming to Hulu is a comedic anthology written by The Office star and script writer Novak that features an impressive cast and a whole lot of head-scratching storylines, including ones centering around “the worst sex tape ever,” social media trolls, and, well, butt plugs.
In addition to boldly going to places no one’s gone before (is that too much after just talking about butt plugs?), the series also states it will use comedy to “to engage with the biggest issues of our unprecedented modern era.” In doing so, The Premise looks to be tackling topics ranging from sex, social media, and the modern obsession with validation to immigration, police misconduct, and Black Lives Matter.
To have these important discussions, Novak has brought on a pretty all-star cast featuring the talents of Ben Platt, Tracee Ellis Ross, Daniel Dae Kim, Lola Kirke, Soko, Kaitlyn Dever, Jon Bernthal, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ed Asner, George Wallace, Jermaine Fowler, Ayo Edebiri, Eric Lange, and more, believe it or not. In true anthology fashion the cast will be divided up across the show’s first five episodes, all of which have some pretty compelling titles such as “Social Justice Sex Tape,” “Moment of Silence,” “The Ballad of Jesse Wheeler,” “The Commenter,” and, last but not least, “Butt Plug.”
All five of The Premise’s announced episodes feature B.J. Novak’s as a writer or co-writer, with two of them being directed by the star as well. The half-hour anthology comes to exclusively to FX on Hulu on September 16.