Johnny Knoxville signs on for park ranger comedy Mt. Mystic
The Jackass star will act and executive produce in the six-part mockumentary series from Amplify Pictures and Stay Tuned.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Johnny Knoxville is heading into the woods for Mt. Mystic, a mockumentary comedy series built around the employees of a very strange state park, Deadline reports.
Knoxville has joined the ensemble cast and will also serve as an executive producer on the six-part series, which began life as a YouTube pilot. The move comes after last month’s release of Jackass: Best and Last, described by Deadline as the final movie in the Jackass film franchise.
He is also currently hosting Fox’s Fear Factor: House of Fear, which Deadline previously reported is moving into a second season.
Who Knoxville plays
In Mt. Mystic, Knoxville will play Lieutenant Gibbard, a new lieutenant thrown into a workplace packed with big personalities. According to Deadline, Gibbard has spent 20 years largely alone while working for the Forest Service, leaving him ill-equipped for the demands of constant human contact.
The show centers on a messy crew of park rangers trying to keep control of Mt. Mystic State Park, billed in the project as the most unpredictable state park on Earth. The rangers are dealing with cuts to their budget, workplace drama and disorder that ranges from natural to supernatural.
Each episode follows the group’s personal detours and professional misfires as they attempt to keep the park functioning, often with limited success, Deadline reports.
The team behind the series
Mt. Mystic was created by Jeremiah Dunlap and Cory Quintard, who also star in the series. Dunlap is directing, with production scheduled to begin this summer in Los Angeles, according to Deadline.
The regular cast also includes Beta Angarole, Josh Black, Tenea Intriago, Mindy Lopez, Robyn Quintard, Moiba Mustapha, Sally Harvey Anderson and Jasper Platt.
The guest roster is stacked, too. Deadline reports that Joel Kim Booster, Michaela Watkins, Al Madrigal, Josh Radnor, Will Hines, Brian Huskey, Hannah Pilkes and Allan McLeod are among the guest cast.
Amplify and Stay Tuned back the project
Amplify Pictures is producing the series. The company, founded by former Amazon Studios comedy and drama chief Joe Lewis, is also behind HBO’s 100 Foot Wave.
Stay Tuned has joined the project as co-financier. The company was founded by screenwriter Kenny Neibart, executive producer Douglas Banker and former CAA agent Barry Kotler.
Executive producers include Lewis, Rachel Eggebeen, Colin King Miller and Luke Esselen for Amplify Pictures; Dunlap, Quintard and Andrew Secunda for Foundry Mass; and Neibart, Banker and Kotler for Stay Tuned.
The series marks another collaboration between Knoxville and Amplify Pictures after Pretty Sure I Can Fly, the podcast hosted by Knoxville and Elna Baker, according to Deadline.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.