Funny or Die’s new IFC miniseies The Spoils of Babylon is sounding better and better by the minute. Kristen Wiig and Tobey Maguire have signed on to star opposite Will Ferrell in the six-episode series, which is expected to debut in late 2013. Produced by Ferrell and McKay via their Funny or Die label, Spoils of Babylon is a parody of epic ‘80s miniseries like The Thorn Birds and Winds of War. It’s being written by Andrew Steele and directed by Matt Piedmont, the team behind Ferrell’s Casa de mi Padre.
Spoils is an adaptation of a fictional best-selling novel written by renowned author Eric Jonrosh (played by Ferrell) about a wealthy oil family, the Morehouses. Tobey Maguire will star as Devon Morehouse, an orphan who was taken in by oil tycoon Jonas Morehouse and his daughter Cynthia (played by Kristen Wiig) as a child. The miniseries will follow Devon and Cynthia running the seventh largest company in the world while fighting their feelings for each other, and the Shah of Iran (played by Will Ferrell) is also involved somehow. Nabbing two movie stars like Wiig and Maguire for a silly show like this is a coup for Funny or Die and IFC, and it should be interesting to see who else signs on to join them and help stick it to 30-year-old miniseries.