'History of the World, Part II' lives up to Part 1

Not everything works, and other TV news

March 16, 2023

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Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes and Ike Barinholtz are among the modern cast of comedians to play historic figures in Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part II," on Hulu.

In the end, they pulled it off.

The problem with measuring any sequel to Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part I" against the film that inspired it is that Brooks' original film in 1981 somehow managed to feel like much more than the sum of its somewhat uneven parts.

In one sense, Hulu's "History of the World, Part II" streaming miniseries, whose debut ran March 6 to 9, learned the best lesson possible from its predecessor's mistakes, because while it spans eight episodes, each one lasts less than half an hour, and hopscotches constantly between more than half a dozen sketch premises.

Eve...

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