''No Activity'' is an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series, based on the Australian series of the same name created by

Trent O'Donnell Trent O'Donnell (born 12 February 1976) is an Australian director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career O'Donnell is a television director and co-owner of the production company Jungle (company), Jungle. He wrote and directed the award-wi ...

, that premiered on November 12, 2017, on

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Me ...

. The series was developed by O'Donnell and

Patrick Brammall Patrick Brammall (born 30 March 1976) is an Australian actor and writer. He is best known for his roles as Sean Moody in the ABC comedy '' A Moody Christmas''; as Leo Taylor in Series 5 of Channel Ten's ''Offspring;'' and as Sergeant James Ha ...

, both of whom executive produce alongside

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...

, Adam McKay, Joe Farrell, Jason Burrows, and Joe Hardesty. In February 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which premiered on November 22, 2018. In March 2019, CBS All Access renewed the series for a third season which premiered on November 21, 2019. In October 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season, in which the series switched to a

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

format. The season premiered on April 8, 2021. In January 2023, the series was removed from Paramount+.

Premise

''No Activity''s first series is "set against the world of a major drug cartel bust" and follows "two low-level cops who have spent far too much time in a car together; two criminals who are largely kept in the dark; two dispatch workers who haven’t really clicked; and two Mexican tunnelers who are in way too small a space considering they’ve only just met." The second and third series juxtapose the double parings, the pair of cops, and a pair of criminals - as well as expanding on the relationships within the dispatch center. In the second series, the El Chapo connection acquires an over exuberant FBI agent involved in the case, and his perspective on matters. Cameos are more frequent. The third series revolves around the demoted officers, from detectives to patrol, and the cleanup of the El Chapo events and the FBI agent. The patrol car features more cameos, and there is a general resistance to robotic replacements introduced to the dispatch center and other areas of life.

Cast and characters

Main

as Nick Cullen, a police detective *

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy ...

as Judd Tolbeck, a police detective *

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both ''The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and ''The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

as Janice Delongpre, a dispatch officer *

Sunita Mani Sunita Mani (born December 13, 1986) is an American actress, dancer and comedian. She is best known for her television roles as Trenton in the USA Network drama ''Mr. Robot'' (2015–2017) and Arthie Premkumar in the Netflix comedy '' GLOW'' (2 ...

as Fatima Khorasani, a dispatch officer *

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subseque ...

as Angus (season 1) *

Jason Mantzoukas Jason Mantzoukas (, el, Ιάσων Μαντζούκας; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series ''The League'', and as one of the th ...

as Dustin Kasprowicz, an undercover FBI agent who goes by the name Marco * Arturo Castro as Miguel (season 1) * Adrian Martinez as Roberto (season 1) *

Cristin Milioti Cristin Milioti (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing Tracy McConnell in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' from 2013 to 2014, and for her work in theater productions such as ''That Face'', ''Stunning'', a ...

as Frankie (season 2) *

Dylan McDermott Dylan McDermott (born Mark Anthony McDermott; October 26, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the legal drama series ''The Practice'', which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best ...

as Clint Bergman (season 3) *

George Basil George William Basil is an American actor and producer. Early life Basil grew up outside Baltimore in Essex. After his family moved to Greece, being of age he stayed and worked briefly as a chef after graduating high school. After seeing a flye ...

as Gary (season 3) *

Angus Sampson Angus Sampson (born 1979) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his performances in the ''Insidious'' film series, ''The Mule'', '' Mad Max: Fury Road'', and the Peabody-winning second season of '' Fargo''. Early life Samp ...

as Chief (season 3)

Recurring

as Adrian * Nina Pedrad as Helen *

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

as Greg, a port security officer *

Darren Gilshenan Darren Gilshenan is an Australian actor and writer. He is best known for his in television series ''The Moodys'', ''Maximum Choppage'', '' Chandon Pictures'' and '' Full Frontal''. Early life Darren was first introduced to acting while he was a ...

as Tony *

Chris Gethard Christopher Paul Gethard (; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of ''The Chris Gethard Show'', a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts the podcasts ''Beautiful Stories ...

as Zach Ataque, a dispatch officer * Matt Walsh as Larry Turnbull * Jack Axelrod as Steve * Alexandra Rodriguez as Gabriella *

Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Ch ...

as Josh Haldeman, a special agent for the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

J. K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He ...

as Leon Fordham, an internal affairs senior detective * John Leary *

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Primetime Emmy ...

as Cotric *

Joe Manganiello Joseph Michael Manganiello ( ; , ; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man''. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of ...

as Dugan *

Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...

as Charles Brock *

Joe Keery Joseph David Keery (born April 24, 1992) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Steve Harrington in the science fiction series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present) and for his role in the comedy film ''Free Guy'' (2021) ...

as Officer Ed Reinhardt

Guest

Mackenzie Davis Mackenzie Rio Davis (born April 1, 1987) is a Canadian actress, producer, and model. She made her feature film debut in '' Smashed'' (2012). In 2013, she appeared in ''Breathe In'' and '' The F Word'' (for which she was nominated for the Canadia ...

as Pat the Rat ("The Metric System") *

Bridget Everett Bridget Everett (born April 21, 1972) is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She has starred in the semi-autobiographical 2022 HBO series '' Somebody Somewhere'', the movie ''Fun Mom Dinner'', and in a one-hour ...

as Bonnie Lehman ("Golden Age of Tunnels"), a special agent for the DEA *

Michaela Watkins Michaela Suzanne Watkins (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for starring on the Hulu series '' Casual'' and on the short-lived sitcoms '' The Unicorn'' and ''Trophy Wife'', as well as being a cast memb ...

as Erin Saunders ("Golden Age of Tunnels"), an internal affairs detective *

Courtenay Taylor Courtenay Taylor is an American actress. She is best known for her video game voice roles as Jack in the ''Mass Effect'' series, Ada Wong in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and the female Sole Survivor in ''Fallout 4''. Career Taylor has been na ...

as Officer Eastman ("The Raid") *

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

as The Actress ("The Actress") *

Harriet Dyer Harriet Dyer (born 17 October 1988) is an Australian actress. She is best known for starring in the television series '' Love Child'' (2014–2017) and ''No Activity'' (2015–2018). She has also appeared in films, most notably ''The Invisible M ...

as Hazel ("The Actress") *

Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...

("Honesty & Action") * Allison Bell as Leary ("Honesty & Action") *

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series ''Last Comic Standing'' i ...

as herself ("Tooth and Nail")

Episodes

Season 1 (2017)

Season 2 (2018)

Season 3 (2019)

Season 4 (2021)

Production

Development

On August 1, 2017, it was announced that

had given the production, an American adaptation of the Australian television series ''

No Activity ''No Activity'' is an Australian comedy television series which streams on Stan. The series is about two detectives on a stakeout. The Australian series was the first commission produced for the Australian streaming service. It comes from the ...

'', a series order. Executive producers were expected to include Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Patrick Brammall, Trent O'Donnell, Jason Burrows and Joe Farrell. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

Gary Sanchez Productions Gary Sanchez Productions was an American film and television production company founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. History Gary Sanchez Productions was founded in 2006 by comedians and filmmakers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The company ...

, and

Funny Or Die Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a reg ...

. On October 4, 2017, it was announced that the series would premiere on November 12, 2017. On February 13, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season. On September 25, 2018, it was announced that the second season would be released all at once on November 22, 2018. On March 3, 2019, it was reported that the series had been renewed for a third season. On October 15, 2019, it was announced that the third season would premiere on November 21, 2019. On October 29, 2020, CBS All Access renewed the series for a fourth season, with the season being animated rather than live-action, during the set on

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Casting

Alongside the series premiere announcement, it was confirmed that the series would star

and

with guest stars including

, Mark Berry, Arturo Castro,

, Travis Guba,

, Adrian Martinez,

, Fred Pohl,

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, Courtenay Taylor,

, and Daniel Zolghadri.

Release

On October 4, 2017, a teaser trailer for the first season was released. On October 30, 2017, the official trailer for season one was released. On November 12, 2018, the official trailer and key art for season two were released.

Showcase (Canadian TV channel) Showcase is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. Launched on January 1, 1995, the channel primarily airs scripted and dramatic television series. History Licensed in 1994, Showcase was a venture between ...

picked up the show and broadcast season 1 in autumn 2020.

Reception

The first season was met with a mixed reception from critics upon its premiere. On the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the first season holds a 70% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.58 out of 10 based on 10 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''No Activity'' feels refreshingly slapdash and agreeably aimless for a cop comedy, welcoming viewers to bask in its gentle mirth – though its hook may be less than satisfying for some viewers."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 56 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In a positive review, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s Luke Buckmaster gave the series a rating of 3 out of 5 stars saying, "''No Activity'' plays in minor key, a reminder of some of comedy’s essential ingredients. Shticks combine irreverence with mundanity, there is generous give and take between performers, and it shows an appreciation of incongruity in various iterations."

References

External links

* * {{Paramount+ 2010s American police comedy television series 2020s American police comedy television series 2017 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings American television series based on Australian television series Paramount+ original programming English-language television shows Television series by Funny or Die Television series by Gary Sanchez Productions Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in San Diego