By: Jennifer Hlad Stars and Stripes Your inner sergeant major is going to be screaming about the haircuts, the 5 o’clock shadow and the unzipped ACU blouse. But if you can overlook the fact that a so-called “supersoldier” doesn’t seem to recognize his commanding officer, and all the soldiers walking around outside without covers, “Enlisted” will probably have you laughing before the first commercial break. Plus, if you write down all the mistakes in the first episode and send them in, they’ll send you a challenge coin. The cast of Fox’s new military comedy did correct many of the most obvious problems in the pilot for future episodes, and they told Stars and Stripes they were embarrassed about the SNAFUs. Geoff Stults, the actor who plays the oldest of three brothers on the show, said in a promo for the show that while “Enlisted” is a comedy, “we feel like it’s important to get these things right.” Kevin Biegel, the show’s creator, previously worked on “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town” and “South Park,” and said his point in making the show was not to be a satire or make fun of the military, but to just show military life and some of the funny things that go along with it. “This is an interesting, fascinating job full of people that I love, who sometimes love their jobs, sometimes the job makes them friggin’ crazy, and that, to me, that’s conflict. That’s comedy,” Biegel said. Several of Biegel’s friends and family members are veterans or active-duty servicemembers, he said, and he wants to address some more serious, real-world problems on the show – including post-traumatic stress and soldiers who get out of the military and can’t find jobs. “I want people [in the military] to know: We’re kind of doing the show for them,” he said. Biegel isn’t the only one connected to the show with military ties. Stults said his best friend is a Marine officer, Angelique Cabral grew up near Fort Ord and said her mother’s best friend was in the Army and Chris Lowell has several family members who served, including an active-duty Marine cousin. Keith David, who plays a sergeant major, has played several military roles, from King in “Platoon” to Gunnery Sgt. Brinkloff in “Semper Fi” and the voice of Sergeant Foley in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Parker Young, who plays an overzealous PFC, said he’s always been interested in the military, and actually considered joining after the cast went through a short boot camp at Fort Bliss. “There’s not a more fun life to pretend to be living,” Young said. And thankfully for all those inner sergeants major, they’ve brought in some military consultants so the pretend soldiers will seem a bit more realistic than they do in the pilot. The show premieres Jan. 10 on Fox.
By: Jennifer Hlad Stars and Stripes Your inner sergeant major is going to be screaming about the haircuts, the 5 o’clock shadow and the unzipped ACU blouse. But if you can overlook the fact that a so-called “supersoldier” doesn’t seem to recognize his commanding officer, and all the soldiers walking around outside without covers, “Enlisted” will probably have you laughing before the first commercial break. Plus, if you write down all the mistakes in the first episode and send them in, they’ll send you a challenge coin. The cast of Fox’s new military comedy did correct many of the most obvious problems in the pilot for future episodes, and they told Stars and Stripes they were embarrassed about the SNAFUs. Geoff Stults, the actor who plays the oldest of three brothers on the show, said in a promo for the show that while “Enlisted” is a comedy, “we feel like it’s important to get these things right.” Kevin Biegel, the show’s creator, previously worked on “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town” and “South Park,” and said his point in making the show was not to be a satire or make fun of the military, but to just show military life and some of the funny things that go along with it. “This is an interesting, fascinating job full of people that I love, who sometimes love their jobs, sometimes the job makes them friggin’ crazy, and that, to me, that’s conflict. That’s comedy,” Biegel said. Several of Biegel’s friends and family members are veterans or active-duty servicemembers, he said, and he wants to address some more serious, real-world problems on the show – including post-traumatic stress and soldiers who get out of the military and can’t find jobs. “I want people [in the military] to know: We’re kind of doing the show for them,” he said. Biegel isn’t the only one connected to the show with military ties. Stults said his best friend is a Marine officer, Angelique Cabral grew up near Fort Ord and said her mother’s best friend was in the Army and Chris Lowell has several family members who served, including an active-duty Marine cousin. Keith David, who plays a sergeant major, has played several military roles, from King in “Platoon” to Gunnery Sgt. Brinkloff in “Semper Fi” and the voice of Sergeant Foley in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Parker Young, who plays an overzealous PFC, said he’s always been interested in the military, and actually considered joining after the cast went through a short boot camp at Fort Bliss. “There’s not a more fun life to pretend to be living,” Young said. And thankfully for all those inner sergeants major, they’ve brought in some military consultants so the pretend soldiers will seem a bit more realistic than they do in the pilot. The show premieres Jan. 10 on Fox.
