Fact checkers: Every magazine has ‘em, and while Hollywood has mostly ignored the drama and glamor* of this very essential profession, all that is about to change. NBC is launching a spot-on new dot-com-only series, FCU: Fact Checkers Unit, that chronicles two dotty fact checkers at the fictional Dictum magazine as they go to great lengths to confirm the details of the publication’s stories. Today, you can exclusively watch the first episode of the new series here on EW.com, before its official premiere (alongside two additional episodes) on the show’s NBC.com homepage tomorrow.
The premiere, titled “Paranormal Factivity,” guest stars Luke Perry (at left, with Peter Karinen and Brian Sacca, aka the fact checkers, who created the show alongside Dan Beers) as himself. The series, indeed, is very guest-starry: Scrubs‘ Donald Faison and model Karolina Kurkova are in episodes 2 and 3, while Friday Night Light‘s Zach Gilford, Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jon Heder, rocker Dave Navarro, NCIS‘ Pauley Perrette, and Jeopardy host Alex Trebek are slated to pop up throughout the show’s eight-episode run. So there’s your glamor! Watch the funny—and fast!—first episode here:
Surprise! I didn’t mention this before because I wanted it to be a surprise, but how much did you love that Flight of the Conchords and Daily Show genius Kristen Schaal is a part of the cast? She’s brilliantly wacky here, just like most magazine staffers really are**.
What’d you think of the episode? Did you like it as much as me? Will you tune back in?
Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky
*Apologizes in advance to EW’s esteemed fact-checking crew.
**Apologies in advance to all my EW colleagues.
Wait, they made a TV show out of this? I loved Bill Murray in the short film. I wanted to hug him after I watched it.
Well, that was random.
very cool!!!
This is effing hilarious!
Hysterical! Can’t wait to see more!!
That was nuts. More please.
When you ask “do you like it as much as me?”, did you mean “do you like the show as much as you like me”? Maybe your column could have benefitted from GCU: Grammar Check Unit.
OMG that is funny. These guys are geniuses. More please!!
This is hilarious. Cannot wait for more!!
Who is Dan Beers?
So not funny.