# MacGruber
**[MacGruber](https://www.edgepedia.org/macgruber-film)** is a comedic character created for *Saturday Night Live* by [Will Forte](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-forte), John Solomon, and [Jorma Taccone](https://www.edgepedia.org/jorma-taccone), a parody of the 1980s action series *MacGyver* who improvises weapons from everyday objects while behaving as an incompetent, hyper-patriotic superspy. The sketch first aired in January 2007, was adapted into a 2010 feature film, and returned as an eight-episode Peacock streaming series in 2021.[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/macgruber-tv-show-will-forte-series-order-peacock-2910440/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Recurring *Saturday Night Live* sketch, first aired January 2007, parodying *MacGyver*[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/macgruber-tv-show-will-forte-series-order-peacock-2910440/) |
| Creators | Will Forte, John Solomon, and Jorma Taccone[2](https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1037857-macgruber-tv-series-in-development-with-original-cast) |
| 2010 film | Directed by Taccone; co-starred Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe, and Val Kilmer as villain Dieter Von Cunth[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-16-la-ca-snl-macgruber-20100516-story.html) • [4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/macgruber-is-a-misunderstood-gem-of-a-cult-comedy/) |
| Film performance | Grossed less than its $10 million budget; Metascore 43 (mixed or average)[5](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2021/12/15/will-forte-macgruber-series-Peacock/6551639511768/) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/macgruber/critic-reviews/) |
| 2021 series | Eight episodes, Peacock, premiered December 16, 2021, rated TV-MA; canceled after one season[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber) • [8](https://epguides.com/MacGruber/) |
| Series reception | 85% Tomatometer (20 reviews) and 84% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber) |
| Distinction | Per *Vanity Fair*, MacGruber is among the recurring SNL characters to get its own TV series in the show's almost 50-year history[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte) • [18](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/12200/ohh-nooo-mr-bill-presents) |
## The SNL sketch
The character debuted on *Saturday Night Live* in January 2007 as a satire of *MacGyver*, the ABC series whose hero escaped traps by constructing devices from unlikely raw materials.[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/macgruber-tv-show-will-forte-series-order-peacock-2910440/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-16-la-ca-snl-macgruber-20100516-story.html) Writer and director Jorma Taccone described the character as "a pitch I had at SNL that has morphed into this character with a lot of problems."[10](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/MacGruber-8700.html) Several sketches could air in a single episode, and the format typically ended with the detonation of a bomb in the control room where MacGruber, his assistant Vicki St. Elmo ([Kristen Wiig](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-wiig)), and an assistant were trapped.[5](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2021/12/15/will-forte-macgruber-series-Peacock/6551639511768/) [Betty White](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-white) took part in MacGruber sketches during her 2010 guest-host stint on the show.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/now-if-ahnuld-had-starred-macgruber-17616/)
The character also moved into advertising: MacGruber appeared as a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial pitchman, and a national television commercial aired in February 2009, after which a feature film was slated.[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte) • [10](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/MacGruber-8700.html)
## The 2010 film
*MacGruber* followed the path of earlier SNL sketch adaptations such as *The Blues Brothers*, *Wayne's World*, and *A Night at the Roxbury*. It was the first SNL character to make the transition to movies since [Tim Meadows](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-meadows)' *The Ladies Man*.[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/macgruber-tv-show-will-forte-series-order-peacock-2910440/) • [12](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/65926-exclusive-will-forte-and-jorma-taccone-on-macgruber) Taccone directed in his feature debut, co-writing with Forte and Solomon, and the cast added [Ryan Phillippe](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-phillippe), Powers Boothe, and [Val Kilmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/val-kilmer) as the villain Dieter Von Cunth, whom MacGruber must stop from destroying Washington, D.C.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-16-la-ca-snl-macgruber-20100516-story.html) • [4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/macgruber-is-a-misunderstood-gem-of-a-cult-comedy/) The film runs 88 minutes and sends up big-budget action films of the 1980s and early 1990s.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/now-if-ahnuld-had-starred-macgruber-17616/)
Commercially the film grossed less than its $10 million budget, and it earned a C CinemaScore with poor critical and audience reviews.[5](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2021/12/15/will-forte-macgruber-series-Peacock/6551639511768/) • [4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/macgruber-is-a-misunderstood-gem-of-a-cult-comedy/) Its Metascore settled at 43, in the mixed-or-average band.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/macgruber/critic-reviews/) Some critics saw more in it than the numbers suggested: Peter Travers wrote that the film "breaks the jinx by putting the skit in the context of a 1980s action movie and creating its own brand of explosive lunacy."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/macgruber/critic-reviews/)
**Cult following.** In the decade after release the film built a devoted audience and received a general reappraisal, including from critics who had dismissed it initially; [Christopher Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-nolan) is among its fans and gave the TV series his blessing.[4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/macgruber-is-a-misunderstood-gem-of-a-cult-comedy/) • [9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte) Forte said that very early after the movie bombed at the box office, the creative team regrouped and resolved to make another version of MacGruber, first imagining a self-financed sequel shot on iPhones before concluding a TV series made more sense.[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte)
## The 2021 Peacock series
Peacock ordered the eight-episode series in August 2020, more than ten years after the film and eight months after development began. Forte wrote and executive produced alongside [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels) and the original sketch co-creators Solomon and Taccone, with Taccone also directing.[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/macgruber-tv-show-will-forte-series-order-peacock-2910440/) All eight episodes dropped on December 16, 2021, and the show carries a TV-MA rating.[8](https://epguides.com/MacGruber/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber)
The series is a direct sequel. After the film's ending, a jury sentenced MacGruber to prison for killing Dieter Von Cunth, and after more than a decade behind bars he is released at the request of General Barrett Fasoose ([Laurence Fishburne](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-fishburne)) for one last mission against Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth ([Billy Zane](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-zane)), a villain from his past. Kristen Wiig returns as Vicki St. Elmo and Ryan Phillippe as Dixon Piper, with [Sam Elliott](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-elliott) cast as MacGruber's father.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber) • [9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte) The season's plot centers on the race to secure a deadly chemical weapon called "Brimstone" before Queeth can obtain it.[13](https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/macgruber/5333727769200641112)
Forte said Peacock let the team "do whatever we wanted to do," and that a broadcast network's standards and practices would never have approved the show's language.[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte) Critics responded more warmly than they had to the film: the season holds an 85% Tomatometer, with a critics consensus that the show "won't convert anyone who isn't already in on the joke, but it reaffirms that deadpan buffoonery is Will Forte's forte."[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber) • [14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber/s01) Some reviewers found the format stretched: one review called it "a funny, ridiculous story stretched too thin in this overlong streaming series," noting the eight episodes amount to roughly a four-hour movie.[15](https://theplaylist.net/macgruber-tv-review-20211215/) • [16](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/macgruber-peacock-tv-review-2021) The series was canceled after its single season.[8](https://epguides.com/MacGruber/)
## Later returns
The character returned to *Saturday Night Live* in November 2025 with three MacGruber sketches in a [Glen Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/glen-powell)-hosted episode; the return was Powell's idea, and Taccone and Solomon remotely collaborated on the new installments while Forte was shooting Season 2 of Netflix's *The Four Seasons*.[17](https://latenighter.com/news/snl-macgruber-return-explained-glen-powell-will-forte/) Forte has also floated further formats, telling *Vanity Fair* that a musical or an animated version would be fun to attempt.[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte)
## References
1. [MacGruber TV Show, Starring Will Forte, Gets Series Order At Peacock, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/news/macgruber-tv-show-will-forte-series-order-peacock-2910440/)
2. [MacGruber TV Series In Development With Original Cast, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1037857-macgruber-tv-series-in-development-with-original-cast)
3. ['MacGruber' carrying 'SNL' baggage, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-16-la-ca-snl-macgruber-20100516-story.html)
4. [MacGruber Is a Misunderstood Gem of a Cult Comedy, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/macgruber-is-a-misunderstood-gem-of-a-cult-comedy/)
5. [Will Forte: 'MacGruber' series began as movie sequel, UPI](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2021/12/15/will-forte-macgruber-series-Peacock/6551639511768/)
6. [MacGruber critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/macgruber/critic-reviews/)
7. [MacGruber, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber)
8. [MacGruber (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides](https://epguides.com/MacGruber/)
9. [MacGruber, and Will Forte, Never Say Die, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/12/macgruber-tv-show-peacock-will-forte)
10. [MacGruber - From SNL To Big Screen, Female First](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/MacGruber-8700.html)
11. [Now, If Ahnuld Had Starred in 'MacGruber'..., TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/now-if-ahnuld-had-starred-macgruber-17616/)
12. [Exclusive: Will Forte and Jorma Taccone on MacGruber!, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/65926-exclusive-will-forte-and-jorma-taccone-on-macgruber)
13. [Watch MacGruber Season 1 Streaming Online, Peacock](https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/macgruber/5333727769200641112)
14. [MacGruber: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/macgruber/s01)
15. ['MacGruber' TV Review, The Playlist](https://theplaylist.net/macgruber-tv-review-20211215/)
16. [MacGruber Returns with A Stupidly Funny Peacock Series, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/macgruber-peacock-tv-review-2021)
17. [MacGruber's Return to SNL Was Glen Powell's Idea, LateNighter](https://latenighter.com/news/snl-macgruber-return-explained-glen-powell-will-forte/)
18. [Ohh Nooo Mr Bill Presents, tvmaze.com](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/12200/ohh-nooo-mr-bill-presents)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Television series based on films › Live-action series based on films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license