‘History Of The World, Part II’ Continues Mel Brooks’ Tradition Of Humorously Recreating Important Past Events

Nick Kroll says that, “there’s nothing better than hearing Mel Brooks say, ‘Oh, good idea.’

But, conversely he adds, “There is nothing more crushing than pitching Mel a joke and him being like, ‘No, that’s bad.’”

However, Kroll truly feels that, “Mel Brooks directly telling you that your idea sucks is one of the great privileges of my life.”

Kroll is talking about his time collaborating with Brooks on the new series History of the World, Part II, a sequel to Brooks movie History of the World, Part I, released over 40 years ago.

Much like the premise of the original film, each episode of the series features a variety of sketches that take viewers through different periods of human history.

Describing his lifelong infatuation with Brooks, Kroll says, “I was watching Mel Brooks movies and quoting them from the time I was, like, 5 years old. Truly.”

He adds that, “nobody is a bigger influence on me and my comedy career and my point of view than Mel Brooks.”

Kroll says that he met Brooks at an Emmy party several years ago. “He gave us boxes of [candy] on our way out. It was the greatest day of my life.”

But then Kroll remembers, “I actually met Mel for the first time many, many years ago at a Jewish humor awards [event]. I was fresh out of college and was just starting comedy. I told him that I had an idea for a remake of The Producers. And he said, ‘Do your own thing. Do your own work,’ and walked out of the room. And, you know, I went and did that.”

When he was asked to make History of the World, Part II, Kroll was flattered, and felt it was meant to be. “[That movie] is like one of three VHS [tapes] that we had in our house. I knew the whole movie by heart.”

Kroll says that Brooks didn’t just lend his name to the project, that he’s been actively involved throughout the process, working as a writer and producer. “I remember very early meetings with Mel, and he was like, I’ve got jokes.’ He had bits ready to go.”

It’s hard not to marvel at Brooks enthusiasm, says Kroll. “You know, he’s 96. His comedy mind is still so sharp. He’s still so funny. He narrates the entire show. I mean, the guy has an insane life force.”

Talking about Brooks edgy humor, Kroll wants people to remember that, “He was making The Producers in the ’60s; he was making a musical about Adolf Hitler 20 years after the Holocaust.”

It’s that tradition of comic commentary that Kroll says was the creative team’s goal in crafting History of the World Part II.

“Mel’s ultimate goal was always to poke fun at those in power and how greedy and stupid they were. So, doing a show about history now at a time when we are re-examining the past [and] how things went down, became, for me, a very easy through-line to just continue Mel’s legacy of poking fun at those in power. That really became our guiding light to continue making the show,” explains Kroll.

He adds, “I personally think right now in comedy you can still say and do insane things. You just have to be a little more thoughtful about how and why you’re saying them, and if you take that extra time to think about that, then you can still say and do some pretty wild things. It just requires a little more thought.”

The actors appearing on the series are what Kroll calls, ‘a murderer’s row of talent.” They include Ike Barinholtz, Rob Corddry, Jack Black, Zazie Beetz, Quinta Brunson Danny DeVito, Wanda Sykes, Andrew Rannells, Jason Mantzoukas, D’Arcy Carden, and Brandon Kyle Goodman, among others.

He says it wasn’t hard to find people willing to participate. “Johnny Knoxville, who I’ve known for a long time, I got a text from him five minutes after the [initial] announcement [about the show] was made, [that said], ‘Anything I can do. Mel Brooks is my hero.’ Sarah Silverman, the same thing. Sarah reached out being like, ‘Mel’s my hero. If there’s anything I can do.’”

With Brooks bringing the jokes, and a cavalcade of guest stars, Kroll sums up the series, saying, “We’re continuing the [Mel Brooks] tradition of finding humor in tricky times.”

‘History of the World Part II’ premieres on Hulu Monday, March 6^th airing two new episodes every night until Thursday, March 9^th.