Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Golf comeback comedy The Hawk falls flat, critic says
Developed over time first seen 4 months ago
Variety TV critic Alison Herman gives a lukewarm verdict on "The Hawk," Netflix's golf comedy marking Will Ferrell's first turn as lead of a scripted TV series, concluding it never lives up to expectations. Despite years of anticipation and clear echoes of Ferrell's beloved "Talladega Nights," the ten-episode series arrives well after Apple TV's similarly themed "Stick," starring Owen Wilson, had already covered comparable ground more effectively, leaving "The Hawk" feeling redundant on arrival.
Ferrell plays washed-up golfer Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins as he attempts a PGA comeback while navigating his relationship with his professional-golfer son, played by Jimmy Tatro, with Luke Wilson cast as his composed rival. The project was first conceived in 2023 as a thinly veiled satire of the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour, but writer Ramy Youssef departed in 2024 over creative differences, and the finished version only briefly touches on LIV's politics. Herman notes the show shares striking similarities with "Stick," including a tour bus driven by a gruff older caddy, and argues the Apple TV series, already renewed for a second season, does a better job establishing the fundamentals and appeal of professional golf.
- Sources
- 3
- Outlets
- 3
- Left · Centre · Right
- 0 · 0 · 0
In short
- Variety critic calls Netflix's Will Ferrell golf comedy "The Hawk" disappointing
- Show echoes "Talladega Nights" but was beaten to air by Apple TV's "Stick"
- Once a LIV golf satire, it lost writer Ramy Youssef and softened its politics
How this story developed
- 4 months ago The assessment held steady, with Herman's follow-up commentary sharpening the same critique by pinpointing "The Hawk"'s failure to make golf accessible to newcomers as the key shortcoming that sets it apart unfavourably from "Stick."
- 4 months ago Variety critic Alison Herman published her verdict on Netflix's golf comedy "The Hawk," concluding that Will Ferrell's series-lead debut fails to match years of hype or the inventive spirit of "Talladega Nights," and instead lands as a lesser echo of Apple TV's earlier "Stick."
Explained simply
Professional golf is organised around major tours, including the long-established PGA Tour in the United States. In recent years, the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit has challenged that system by offering large prize funds and signing established players, creating disputes over money, competition and the sport’s future.
Will Ferrell is best known for broad comedy films including Talladega Nights, which satirised American motor racing. In The Hawk, he plays a former golf star trying to return to the PGA Tour while dealing with his son, also a professional golfer, and a more controlled rival.
Streaming services have increasingly used sport as the setting for scripted comedies and dramas. The show arrives after Apple TV’s golf comedy Stick, starring Owen Wilson, and comparisons between the two reflect the competition among platforms for audiences interested in sport-based entertainment.
Coverage · 3 sources
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Variety as “Will Ferrell’s Lackluster Golf Comedy ‘The Hawk’ Is No ‘Talladega Nights’: TV Review”.