Comedic trio The Lonely Island have returned with a 27-minute Netflix special. Billed as a “visual poem,” The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience envisions a universe where baseball superstars Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire recorded a rap album in 1988.
Mike Diva and Akiva Schaffer directed the special, which stars Andy Samberg as Canseco and Schaffer as McGwire. Canseco and McGwire were known as the Bash Brothers during their seven-season run together playing for the Oakland Athletics. The nickname was inspired by their response to homeruns: bashing each other’s forearms. Years later, both players admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.
The short love letter to the Lonely Island’s childhood heroes features a hefty list of guest stars, including Haim, Maya Rudolph, Jenny Slate, Hannah Simone, Jim O’Heir and Sterling K Brown, who portrays guest vocalist Sia. A standalone album featuring the songs from the special is available on all streaming services.
The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience is the Lonely Island’s first filmed project since the 2016 motion picture Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. In 2015, they were nominated for an Academy Award for their song “Everything Is Awesome” with Tegan and Sara, which was featured in The Lego Movie. They have served as producers on the film Brigsby Bear and the television series’ Alone Together, Party Over Here and Pen15.
This summer, the Lonely Island will set out on their first multi-city tour. They made their concert debut at 2018’s Clusterfest. The eight-date tour will launch on June 15th at Bonnaroo and wrap on June 29th in Minneapolis.