Every once in a while, Drunk History does a special episode based on a theme. In the past, the show did a whole episode on Hamilton with the story told by the musical’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, but for the upcoming season, show creator Derek Waters is directing a special episode all about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .
Entertainment Weekly says that like the Hamilton episode, the Frankenstein installment will feature some big names such as Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, Elijah Wood, Evan Rachel Wood, Jack McBrayer, and Rich Fulcher as the tipsy narrator.
The story will actually focus on the creation of the book Frankenstein rather than the story of the doctor who created a monster. Waters described the story as told by Rich Fulcher.
“Due to a summer-long blackout from a volcanic eruption, five young poets and writers are relegated to the indoors and ensuing boredom on their holiday at Lake Geneva. Turning to drugs, alcohol and late-night scary storytelling, the writers’ imaginations run rampant. Hallucinogenic inspiration leads a young Mary Shelley to spin a magnificent tale which turns out to be the basis of her horror classic Frankenstein. “
In the episode, Rogen is the doctor and Ferrell is his monster.
Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen to star in special Frankenstein episode of Drunk History https://t.co/mdYz2cMiZv
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) October 5, 2018
Derek Waters says that like the Hamilton episode, the Frankenstein one will take up the full show. He explains that he likes to mix things up and do something different when he can.
“Every year I ask myself, ‘How will we not be a show that’s just somebody drunk and a famous person moving their lips to a moment in history?’”
He says that he likes to try different spoofs to mix things up.
“I liked how [season 5’s] ‘Drunk Mystery’ was in the tone of Unsolved Mysteries , and I wanted to do something in another tone. I was like, ‘Oh, that show Are you Afraid of the Dark ? was so funny as a kid, maybe it’d be something around the campfire. History started around campfires and people telling stories.’ It’s in the tone of Are You Afraid of the Dark? , and it’s a story about a story. It’s about Mary Shelley coming up with this story at a party, so I thought, ‘This one will be really big.’”
Both Seth Rogen and Will Ferrell have been on Drunk History before, but not on a full half-hour episode.
Derek Waters has said that Drunk History is secretly a history show, but it has the added fun of being told by a celebrity under the influence of alcohol. If you ever wondered what form of alcohol is the best for Drunk History , Waters has a theory.
“Wine makes you sleepy, beer makes you whine about your lost loves. Bourbon does what the show needs, which is making you think you’re smarter than everyone else.”