Written & Edited By: Lee Fenton
Truth Seekers:
A nice jaunt into the horror-comedy subgenre from Nick Frost (star and co-showrunner), his previous appearances alongside Simon Pegg have always been a hit with the public. Now he’s going it alone with a new(ish) series from Amazon Prime. I put off watching ‘Truth Seekers’ for some time – and now that I’ve finally given it a chance, I’m delighted to say it’s a highly unique tribute to televised ghost stories, urban tales, and the horror genre as a whole.
Where it really excels is its expert editing and jump-scares. Nick Frost and Simon Pegg helped to create the show with the director Jim Field Smith – and together they’ve made a very funny and offbeat comedy series that lovingly homages horror classics.
Most of the jokes hit and deliver that campy humour that Frost is famous for, and anyone who’s a previous fan will have to agree that he’s still very capable of delivering ‘the goods’, when it comes to eliciting laughter. The man seems to subsist wholly off of comedy and his demeanour is so good natured – it’s easy to laugh at his antics, and yet quite hard to be offended by them.
This is what I consider the perfect comedy mixture – one part ludicrousness – and another part hapless idiot.
To contrast Frost’s character ‘Gus’, we have Malcom McDowell playing his curmudgeonly father. I have rarely seen McDowell in a comedic role, however, in his later years he has tended to play hamfisted villains that do allow him to ‘chew the scenery’. Comedy involves a lot of theatricality, so it makes sense that McDowell would excel at both.
His reactions to Nick Frost’s quips are super funny and the two of them going back and forth; one of the highlights of the series.
As a longtime fan – I would have to rank this as high in his performances.
Malcolm McDowell really seems to have the knack for improvisation and ‘riffing’.
I think I’d watch this man do stand-up!
Frost and the rest of the cast deliver on the wacky premise of under equipped and un-prepared ‘Ghost Hunters’ coming into conflict with terrible and fearsome spirits, entities, and monsters. Their hilarious reactions, coupled with a true love of the horror genre – make this show something that almost anybody can and should enjoy.
So what are you waiting for? Go seek some truth.
Rating 8.5/10
(Cancelled after only one season, Truth Seekers is available to watch on Amazon Prime)
Truth Seekers
Truth Seekers is a 2020 British supernatural comedy horror streaming television series created by Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, James Serafinowicz, and Nat Saunders. The series was directed by Jim Field Smith and stars Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, with Emma D’Arcy, Samson Kayo, Julian Barratt, Susan Wokoma, and Malcolm McDowell in supporting roles.
The first two episodes premiered at the Canneseries Festival, on 10 October 2020, followed by an Amazon Prime Video release on 30 October 2020.
On 11 February 2021, Frost announced via his Instagram page that the show had been cancelled.
[1] -WIKIPEDIA
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_Seekers
