''Wayne'' is an American

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

series created by Shawn Simmons that premiered on January 16, 2019, on

YouTube Premium YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals programming ...

. The series stars Mark McKenna,

Ciara Bravo Ciara Quinn Bravo (; born March 18, 1997) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, starring in the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' and the Fox series '' Red Band Society''. She also appeared in the Nickelodeon televi ...

, and Joshua J. Williams and it follows a teenage boy who sets out to retrieve his late father's stolen car with the help of a girl he has a crush on. On August 16, 2019, the series was cancelled after one season. The first season was added to Amazon Prime Video on November 6, 2020.

Premise

''Wayne'' starts in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Mas ...

in present day. The titular character "sets out on a dirt bike with his new crush Del to take back the 1979

Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

that was stolen from his father before he died." The car is in Ocala, Florida. Wayne, Del, and a host of oddball characters go on a road trip to get it back. "It is Wayne and Del against the world."

Cast and characters

Main

* Mark McKenna as Wayne McCullough Jr., a teenage boy who attempts to retrieve his late father's stolen car. *

as Delilah "Del" Luccetti, a girl from Brockton for whom Wayne develops feelings.

Recurring

* Stephen Kearin as Sergeant Stephen Geller * James Earl as Officer Jay Ganetti, aka "Cop a' Soup" *

Dean Winters Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama '' Oz'' and had roles in TV series'' Rescue Me'', ''30 Rock'', ''Sex and the City'' and '' Law & Order: Special Vict ...

as Bobby Luccetti, Del's father * Jon Champagne as Carl Lucetti, Del's brother * Jamie Champagne as Teddy Lucetti, Del's brother *

Mike O'Malley Michael Edward O'Malley (born October 31, 1966) is an American actor, writer and producer. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, O'Malley hosted the early 1990s children's game show '' Nickelodeon Guts'' before moving to Los Angeles later ...

as Principal Tom Cole from

Hagler Hagler is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: People with surname or given name * Lyle Hagler Boren (1909–1992), American politician * Collins Hagler (born 1935), Canadian football player * Ellis Hagler (1908–1990), American f ...

High * Joshua J. Williams as Orlando Hikes, Wayne's best friend * Francesco Antonio as Reggie, Wayne's stepbrother * Kirk Ward as Calvin Clay, Wayne's stepfather *

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 Maureen McNulty, Wayne's mother * Sean Patrick Dolan as Darren * Thomas Mitchell Barnet as Scott * Patrick Gallagher as Mr. Hernandez, Wayne's landlord * Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as Eric * Zoé De Grand'Maison as Jenny * Odessa Adlon as Trish *

Akiel Julien Akiel Julien is a Canadian actor. He is known for his role as LaTroy in the teen drama series '' The Next Step'', for which he was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series at the 6th Canadian ...

as Gill * Jack Foley as Orande * Harrison Tanner as Stick

Guest

"Chapter One: Get Some Then" * Ray McKinnon as Wayne McCullough Sr., Wayne's father "Chapter Two: No Priests" * Janet Porter as Tracey * Nick Serino as Jamie *

Tiio Horn Kaniehtiio Alexandra Jessie Horn (''née'' Batt; ; born November 8, 1986), sometimes credited to as Tiio Horn, is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her role in the television film '' Moccasin Flats: Redemption'' and she ...

as Kyra "Chapter Three: The Goddamned Beacon of Truth" * Torri Webster as Emma "Chapter Five: Del" * Abigail Spencer as Donna Luccetti, Del's late mother "Chapter Six: Who Even Are We Now?" * Ernie Grunwald as Vice Principal Walsh from Alabaster High in

Richmond Hill, Georgia Richmond Hill is a city in Bryan County, Georgia. The population was 16,633 at the 2020 U.S. Census, an increase of almost 80% from the 2010 population of 9,281. Richmond Hill is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Rich ...

Bill Lake Bill Lake ( W.F. Lake) is a Canadian actor whose career began in Vancouver and who has appeared in many movies, television movies and series, stage plays and commercials. He has over 175 credits in a variety of productions since the 1970s. Caree ...

as Sheriff "Chapter Seven: It'll Last Forever" *

Peyton Meyer Peyton Meyer (born November 24, 1998) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Lucas Friar on the Disney Channel television series ''Girl Meets World'', and his earlier recurring role as Wes Manning on Disney Channel's ''Dog with a Blog ...

as Bradley "Chapter Eight: Musta Burned Like Hell" *

Pedro Miguel Arce Pedro Miguel Arce (17 June 1976 – 9 December 2022) was a Nicaraguan film and television actor based in Canada. He was known for his roles in ''Land of the Dead'' and ''Get Rich or Die Tryin' (film), Get Rich or Die Tryin, as well as televi ...

as Cashier "Chapter Ten: Buckle the F**k Up" * Derek Theler as

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

Kevin Hanchard Kevin Hanchard (born July 4, 1974) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Det. Arthur Bell in ''Orphan Black'' and Inspector Sematimba in ''The Expanse''. Hanchard currently appears as Superintendent Joseph Donovan in ''Hudson and Rex. ...

as Sergeant Randall

Episodes

Production

Development

On December 7, 2017, it was announced that

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had given the production a pilot order. The series was created by Shawn Simmons and will be executive produced by

Rhett Reese Rhett Reese is an American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, his early credits included ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' and '' Cruel Intentions 3''. He has collaborated with Paul Wernick, writing the film ...

Paul Wernick Paul Wernick is a Canadian television/movie screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplays to the 2016 superhero film ''Deadpool'' and its 2018 sequel with his creative partner Rhett Reese. Career Early career Wernick h ...

, Greg Coolidge, and Kirk Ward. The pilot episode was set to be written by Simmons and directed by Iain B. MacDonald. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Endeavor Content. On April 23, 2018, it was announced that YouTube had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. On November 19, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on January 16, 2019.

Casting

Alongside the pilot order announcement, it was confirmed that Mark McKenna and

would star in the series. Alongside the announcement of the series order, it was reported that Joshua J. Williams had been cast in a recurring role and that

and

would make guest appearances in the pilot episode.

Filming

Principal photography for the pilot episode took place in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, and lasted until December 12, 2017. Filming for the rest of the series began on June 11, 2018, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada, and was scheduled to last until August 16, 2018.

Release

Marketing

On September 21, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released. On November 19, 2018, the official trailer for the series was released.

Premiere

On September 23, 2018, the series held its world premiere during the second annual Tribeca TV Festival in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Following the screening, a conversation was held featuring members of the cast and crew, including creator Shawn Simmons, actors Mark McKenna and

, director Iain B. MacDonald, and writers and executive producers Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward,

, and

Reception

Critical response

The series has been met with a positive response from critics since its premiere. On the review aggregation 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 series holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10 based on 13 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The most thoughtfully violent series you'll see all year, ''Wayne'' is a home run." In a positive review, ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

''s Ben Travers awarded the series a grade of "A−" and praised it saying, "''Wayne'' may feel familiar to other stories, ''Bonnie and Clyde'' included. But Simmons' thoughtful, engrossing, and altogether joyful new series carves its own path on the cold roads of America’s eastern seaboard." In another encouraging criticism, '' Screen Rant''s Kevin Yeoman commended the series saying, "With its varying tones, stellar lead performances, and great supporting cast, ''Wayne'' is much more than the foul-mouthed action-comedy it makes itself out to be. The laughs may be pitch black at times, and the violence is occasionally shocking, but there’s a fascinating and entertaining sweetness woven into every scene that’ll hit you like a blast of rock salt to the heart." In an additional acclamatory critique, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

gave the series a rating of 3½ out of 5 stars and was similarly approving saying, "Both the show and Wayne’s attempts to right the world’s wrongs don’t always work, but they mean well and are rarely dull."

Viewership

Within five days of the series premiere, the first episode had accumulated over 10 million views.

References

External links

Official YouTube Channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne 2010s American comedy television series 2019 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings Action comedy web series American action comedy television series English-language television shows Television series about teenagers YouTube Premium original series Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows set in Massachusetts Television shows set in Florida