Warning: Contains Spoilers for Agent Elvis
Agent Elvis was recently released on Netflix as a new animated show featuring Matthew McConaughey voicing the king of rock and roll himself. The show looks like Axe Cop, plays like Archer, and is cast like a Hollywood blockbuster. In the series, Elvis is unknowingly trained to be a killing machine and is recruited as a secret agent for a shadowy intelligence organization. Dressed in some of his coolest rock and roll outfits, Elvis kicks butt to the tune of his most iconic songs. In the best way possible, the show is filled to the brim with cliches, comic book animation, and cartoon violence.
Created by Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s wife, the show is everything its over-the-top premise implies. Agent Elvis is filled with tropes from the 60s, including Timothy Leary, a spoof of Easy Rider, and a satirical poke at Richard Nixon. It hasn’t been renewed for a second season yet, but if it is, we have some ideas of what we’d like to see. Some of the best parts of the show could go so much further, and the show has only begun to establish what Agent Elvis is capable of. Here’s what we’d like to see if Agent Elvis goes on to season 2.
More Elvis
The drug-fueled adventures of the chaotic monkey Scatter are probably everyone’s favorite part of the series and thank god he didn’t die in the final episode of season 1. But Elvis did. As that rocket went careening into Earth’s atmosphere, Elvis somehow kept an entire space plane from burning up just by putting his body on the nose of it. And while it was probably the coolest way anybody could ever die, it killed off our series protagonist. The show ended with the Commander (Don Cheadle) asking Howard Hughes (Jason Mantzoukas) to make sure he fired up his cloning research again so they could make another Elvis. So the plot was neatly wrapped up with a wink that the creators are holding out for a second season.
But cloning Elvis in season 2 isn’t a bad option. The fact that the show ended in 1973 when Elvis released his Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite means that the creators can now play a fun little game. After his tragic and untimely death, which would take place four years later, one of the greatest things about Elvis’s legacy was how many people decided to dress up like him. The Elvis impersonator became a cultural phenomenon almost as famous as the artist himself. But the fact that the rock star’s image was so ubiquitous well into the 90s means that the Agent Elvis people have an opportunity to make fun of an amazing cliché.
Not only could they say the story of Elvis’s death (the rumor was that he died on the toilet from a drug overdose) was crafted as a cover, but they could take the idea of the Elvis clone and turn it into a plot device. Suddenly, Elvis has to round off thousands of escaped clones. Or not. Perhaps he decides to set them free. Maybe season 2’s antagonist is a fat lazy Elvis impersonator seen ruining children’s birthday parties. It’s a chance to put a different spin on the running joke in society that puts all those costumed actors in the spotlight.
More of the Other Actors
One of the greatest delights of Agent Elvis is the incredible list of supporting cast members. Johnny Knoxville is severely underutilized in Bobby Ray. Though the character is a good fit for him, his part becomes smaller as the season progresses. Seeing more work between him and Scatter could provide some unforgettable moments we haven’t seen yet. Kaitlin Olson is perfect as CeCe with an E. Ironically, she plays a character not too far from her role as Dee in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The super-talented secret agent with mommy issues just looking to party could develop much better in the next season. It’s an interesting plot to see how she might change as she interacts with her mother more. Otherwise, she was basically following Elvis around this entire time.
Jason Mantzoukas is a fantastic actor as well. The show made excellent use of his comedy and his style, but aside from the occasional joke chiming in, he was rarely seen. It also felt like Mantzoukas was playing more of himself than he was Howard Hughes. The reclusive millionaire had a rich history outside the Spruce Goose and his OCD. It would be lovely to explore his character more. In general, Agent Elvis has an opportunity in season two to play things less close to the chest and explore a more mythologized version of their story instead of trying to hit specific historical beats. Hopefully season 2 will be looser and more fictional.