Saving the world — sounds pretty hard, right? But can you imagine how hard it’d be to save the world after a debauched night in Las Vegas? Well, that’s exactly what Nick Zano (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf), and their highly trained squad are facing in this first look at Obliterated, a wild action comedy from the creators of Cobra Kai. You can check out the trailer above.
Coming this fall, Obliterated follows an elite special forces team who thwart a deadly threat to Las Vegas, then celebrate with booze, drugs, and sex. Unfortunately, the vibe is killed once they discover that the bomb they deactivated was a fake.
“The entire city of Las Vegas will be obliterated unless our team can find and deactivate the nuclear device,” executive producer, director, and co-showrunner Hayden Schlossberg tells Tudum. “There is only a short window of time to find the bomb, and as the clock ticks, our team must overcome deadly forces working against them… as well as overcome the massive amounts of alcohol and other substances that are in their system.”
If 24 and The Hangover hooked up and had a baby, it’d be Obliterated. Read on below to check out new photos and find out everything you need to know about the raunchy and high-octane series. And make sure you spy the exclusive clip above that just dropped during Geeked Week 2023.
The party begins on Nov. 30 when all eight episodes of Obliterated Season 1 premiere.
Yes, the Obliterated trailer is ready to blow you away, above. In the sneak peek, we get our first look at the crew in action. “The best of the best from our armed forces and clandestine operations answer the call,” executive producer, director, and co-showrunner Josh Heald tells Tudum. But even by-the-books CIA lead Ava Winters (Hennig) is drawn into the debauchery of Vegas. Ava admits she’s “half-drunk” as she and her team fight to save Sin City from an unexpected terrorist threat.
“Even if you’re the so-called best of the best, you’re gonna be way up against it if called back into action with a system full of liquor and drugs. Our team deals with every conceivable self-imposed obstacle as a result of accidentally partying before the mission is over,” Heald says. While it’s always hard to take down the bad guys, “it’s way more difficult when contending with blurred vision, poor brain processing, decreased coordination, nausea, hunger, thirst, and bladder control,” Heald adds. But, as you can see in the trailer, this team is more than up for the challenge.
First up, we have Hennig as Ava Winters and Zano as Chad McKnight. Heald describes Winters an “intelligence badass” and McKnight as “a Navy SEAL who goes with his gut and has the scars and medals to prove it.”
Joining them on their mission are Terrence Terrell (B Positive) as Trunk, a Navy SEAL and Chad’s wingman; Paola Lázaro (The Walking Dead) as Angela Gomez, a badass Marine sniper; Kimi Rutledge (Shrill) as Maya Lerner, a young NSA tech expert; Eugene Kim (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Paul Yung, an Air Force pilot; C. Thomas Howell (Southland) as Hagerty, a wild-card Army explosives technician; and Alyson Gorske as Lana, a Vegas party girl who gets swept up in the mission. Carl Lumbly also appears as CIA director James Langdon.
“Like their characters, this cast is the best of the best. Each and every one of them can do it all,” director, executive producer, and co-showrunner Jon Hurwitz says. “They can nail the comedy, the drama, and the action. They can play badass or vulnerable; sober or wasted; sexy or sloppy. And on this show, we ask them to do it all.”
Senior Year’s Jade Bender, Oscar-nominee Virginia Madsen, and Billions star David Costabile also appear in the series. Additionally, Big Mouth actor Jason Mantzoukas voices a puckish character in Season 1.
You can check out the cast in the first-look photos below:
Obliterated comes from executive producers, showrunners, writers, and directors Hurwitz, Schlossberg, and Heald, the trio behind the hit action comedy Cobra Kai. Prior to the Karate Kid sequel series, Hurwitz and Schlossberg penned the script for Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and co-wrote and co-directed Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and American Reunion. Meanwhile, Heald wrote Hot Tub Time Machine and its sequel.
Obliterated is also executive produced by Dina Hillier from Counterbalance Entertainment.
Much to the initial surprise of cast members like Lázaro, yes, that camel is very real. Her name is Skittles, and she’s in her late 20s. “She’s a sweetheart,” Lázaro, who first assumed Obliterated’s resident camel would be CGI, tells Tudum. “Skittles is very calm, and you have to be kind of quiet around her. I appreciate that because sometimes I have social anxiety. So to have a moment of quiet with her [was nice].”
Howell, who portrays Hagerty, actually got a chance to ride the camel during a pivotal moment in the season. The actor’s father was a professional cowboy, so Howell grew up on a ranch riding horses. “There isn’t a big difference [between horses and camels] other than the gaits,” he says. “It’s sort of like you’re on a horse that’s doing a waltz. … I was pleased that it was me. I was able to dismount pretty smooth.”
Skittles was so well-trained, Howell adds, “we really had no problem just sauntering on through the middle of a casino.”
Of course you can — and you don’t even need to get security clearance. The above clip, which debuted during Geeked Week 2023, reveals Ava and McKnight just might be a dream team. At least, if your fantasy is commandeering a party bus in the pursuit of a dangerous target.
The video shows the Obliterated crew as they speed through the streets of Las Vegas. Or is it Las Vegass, as the party bus marquee reads? Come for the action and puns, stay for a song you’ll never forget.
Schlossberg confirms that the pulse-pounding comedy was filmed all over Las Vegas. “There have been so many iconic movies and series set in Vegas, and we wanted to add to that pantheon by merging big action and suspense in the most fun, wild party environments the city has to offer,” he says. “This led to some challenging but memorable shooting experiences, [from] wrangling party goers at a day club to shutting down the Las Vegas strip for car chases and explosions.”
According to Heald, the process of seizing Sin City’s essence was a top priority: “We came out to Las Vegas early on to film cityscapes and driving plates. So, anytime we were filming on stage, we could practically look out a window to see real Las Vegas, and you actually felt it. Anytime you’re shooting a car scene, you feel actual Vegas streets, night and day, going by.”
That also goes for Episode 2’s electrifying car chase, which Heald says was captured during “one long night of filming,” aided by police, who shut down streets for minutes at a time to allow shooting to take place. “We were in the Arts District near the Strat, and then up and down one section of South Las Vegas Boulevard between Caesars and Flamingo,” Heald says.
Keep the party going by checking back with Tudum for more information about Obliterated.
For more scoops from Geeked Week 2023, head to geekedweek.com and follow Netflix Geeked on X.
