Huey Lewis is going to have his own mockumentary comedy on Fox. Hey, why not, right? Whatever Happened to Huey Lewis is written and executive produced by Kirker Butler (Only Murders In the Building), and boasts Jimmy Kimmel (Lewis’ longtime friend and fly-fishing buddy) as another of its executive producers, per Deadline. And it stars the musician himself as a fictionalized version of himself, filling a cultural void previously occupied by Matt LeBlanc in Episodes, Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Pete Davidson on his short-lived Bupkis.
It seems doubtful that Lewis’ mockumentary will be as acerbic a satire as those predecessors; in fact, his version sounds downright wholesome. According to a description from Deadline, the series “follows rock and roll legend Huey Lewis as he navigates his new life after losing his hearing. With the help of his codependent family and eccentric celebrity friends, Huey will tackle this hilarious next phase with his signature Heart and Soul.”
The real-life Lewis revealed he was suffering from hearing loss as a result of Ménière’s disease back in 2018, which impeded his ability to play music: “Although I can still hear a little, one on one, and on the phone, I can’t hear music well enough to sing. The lower frequencies distort violently making it impossible to find pitch,” he shared at the time. In the intervening years, he helped develop the Broadway show The Heart Of Rock And Roll, a jukebox musical featuring the songs of his band Huey Lewis and the News. The show closed in June 2024, so now it’s on to the next project.
Though he’s best known for his work as a musician, Lewis has some acting experience under his belt. He quite famously appeared in Back To The Future, but he later appeared on shows like One Tree Hill, Just Shoot Me!, and Hot In Cleveland. He even had a guest role as himself on The King Of Queens, so he has a little experience playing fictionalized Huey Lewises. He’s not the first guy we’d think of to walk the Larry David path, but, again… why not?