The show is off-putting. <\/p>\n
Will Ferrell\u2019s Netflix golf comedy series, \u201cThe Hawk,\u201d is a pale imitation of his earlier work. He\u2019s been all over the place doing outrageous antics to promote <\/a>it. It\u2019s a shame he didn\u2019t seemingly put that effort into making sure the show wasn\u2019t a dud.<\/p>\n Now streaming, \u201cThe Hawk\u201d was co-created by Ferrell, Harper Steele (who was in the documentary \u201cWill & Harper\u201d <\/a>with him), and Chris Henchy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Will Ferrell in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d Getty Images for Netflix<\/p>\n Will Ferrell as Lonnie \u201cThe Hawk\u201d Hawkins in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d Getty Images for Netflix<\/p>\n It follows Lonnie \u201cThe Hawk\u201d Hawkins (Ferrell), a pro golfer trying to launch a late-career comeback, just as his adult son, Lance (Jimmy Tatro), is upstaging him as golf\u2019s latest star.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since this is a Ferrell character, Lonnie is a narcissistic buffoon who makes his son\u2019s success all about himself.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a story that might have made for an amusing yet forgettable five-minute \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d sketch. It\u2019s tedious, as a five-hour series.<\/p>\n The cast is rounded out by other \u201cSNL\u201d alums, like Molly Shannon as Lonnie\u2019s ex wife, and Chris Parnell as a golf executive. Both make valiant efforts to salvage the show, but their parts are too small. Luke Wilson also shows up as a rival golfer. \u00a0<\/p>\n Will Ferrell in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d Getty Images for Netflix<\/p>\n Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d Netflix via AP<\/p>\n In a grim \u2013 and likely unintentional \u2013 case of the show getting meta, Lonnie is a character whose best days are behind him. \u201cThe Hawk\u201d makes you wonder if the same can be said of Ferrell.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the very least, it\u2019s obvious that his skills are best for a movie, not stretched across a ten-episode series. \u201cThe Hawk\u201d is painfully unfunny, and borders on mean-spirited (such as a sequence where Lonnie is so self-absorbed that he doesn\u2019t care about a friend\u2019s death).\u00a0<\/p>\n Not every sports show needs to be \u201cTed Lasso\u201d levels of ooey-gooey sweetness. But, \u201cThe Hawk\u201d isn\u2019t sharp enough to be a good mean comedy (like \u201cDerry Girls,\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s Always Sunny in Philadelphia\u201d<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n It tries to reach for the goofy humor of Ferrell\u2019s heyday \u2013 but it undermines itself with that streak of nastiness, and an undercooked story.<\/p>\n Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate in 2004\u2019s \u201cAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Ferrell and Jon Heder in 2007\u2019s \u201cBlades of Glory.\u201d \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Coll<\/p>\n The former \u201cSNL\u201d star peaked in the early \u2018oughts, with his hilarious flicks like \u201cElf,\u201d \u201cStep Brothers,\u201d\u00a0\u201cAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy\u201d and \u201cTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, his mostly millennial audience was tweens. Now, they\u2019re adults with marriages and mortgages.\u00a0\u201cThe Hawk\u201d feels like it was made for middle schoolers, twenty years ago.<\/p>\n Ferrell\u2019s shtick hasn\u2019t grown up along with them (unlike Ben Stiller, who evolved from that era\u2019s Ferrell-esque movies like \u201cDodgeball,\u201d to trendy shows like \u201cSeverance,\u201d<\/a> in recent years).\u00a0<\/p>\n Jimmy Tatro in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d Netflix via AP<\/p>\n Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate in \u201cAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.\u201d <\/p>\n There would be nothing wrong with Ferrell sticking to familiar territory, if \u201cThe Hawk\u201d was a laugh-riot. But, it forgets key ingredients that made his movies work. <\/p>\n His \u201cAnchorman\u201d character, Ron Burgundy, was also a blowhard. It wasn\u2019t too much, because the movie balanced him with a variety of personalities in its ensemble cast. Plus, the jokes were funnier. <\/p>\n In \u201cThe Hawk,\u201d there are under-used side characters, and Lonnie\u2019s son, Lance, gets the secondary plot. But he doesn\u2019t hit enough different notes as a character to prevent Lonnie\u2019s narcissism from getting old, fast. <\/p>\n Jimmy Tatro, Will Ferrell, and Luke Wilson in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n Jimmy Tatro at \u201cThe Hawk\u201d premiere at Westwood Regency Village Theater in LA on July 9, 2026. Getty Images for Netflix<\/p>\n Another glaring issue is that Ferrell\u2019s movie characters had arcs. Even Ron Burgundy experienced a sliver of growth (from being sexist towards female colleagues to respecting them\u2026in his own way).<\/p>\n Lonnie has no arc. He learns nothing, and undergoes no change. He goes in circles for a punishingly long ten episodes, like a teen who stole a golf cart with no plan to where to drive it. \u00a0<\/p>\n Most of the show consists of Ferrell trotting out his \u201cgreatest hits\u201d antics: randomly dancing in a thong, yelling at inappropriate moments, causing a scene at a party. You might enjoy the show if you like watching him do that stuff, and you don\u2019t need connective tissue in the story or character.<\/p>\n Will Ferrell in \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d \u00a9Netflix\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n Will Ferrell at \u201cThe Hawk\u201d premiere at Westwood Regency Village Theater in LA on July 9, 2026. Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n Been there, done that. He played similar boorish pro-athletes in \u201cTalladega Nights\u201d and \u201cBlades of Glory.\u201d He doesn\u2019t do anything in \u201cThe Hawk\u201d that he didn\u2019t already do better, two decades ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n Watching \u201cThe Hawk\u201d makes you think of all the movies and shows that used similar material in more interesting ways. Ferrell\u2019s own oeuvre is littered with superior sports comedies. \u201cHappy Gilmore\u201d already did the \u201cbad boy of golf\u201d story. This doesn\u2019t add to the concept.<\/p>\n In the recent TV comedy landscape, \u201cWidow\u2019s Bay\u201d <\/a>was packed with silliness, and it was fresh where \u201cThe Hawk\u201d is stale.<\/p>\n Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in \u201cHacks\u201d was also self-involved, but it worked because the HBO show had stronger writing.<\/p>\n