Southern-fried cartoon fun
Bill Engvall isn’t a bounty hunter, but he plays one on TV. And, in the interest of keeping his flesh intact, that’s just the way he likes it.
“In real life, I have no desire to chase guys with bigger necks than mine,” the Texas-born comedian says with a laugh.
Engvall stars in the animated series Bounty Hunters along with his Blue Collar Comedy Tour buddies Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy.
In it, the guys — playing a kind of countrified Three Stooges — run a two-bit bounty-hunting business out of a Southern U.S. strip mall.
The jokes are what you’d expect, and the guys play exaggerated versions of themselves. And that’s a good thing.
Because the best part of the show is the chemistry between the real-life friends, whose Blue Collar Comedy concert films have sold more than nine million units.
“Offstage I think we’re funnier than on stage — imagine three nine-year-olds,” says Engvall, whose own kids are in their 20s.
Of course, the most obvious difference between the standup concert films and Bounty Hunters is the absence of Ron White, their Scotch-swilling pal. “There wasn’t any big breakup,” Engvall explains.
“He decided to do his own thing and we supported it.”
Instead, the Bounty Hunters voice cast includes comedian Lisa Lampanelli as their bondswoman, The Daily Show correspondents Samantha Bee and Jason Jones, SCTV’s Dave Thomas, and guest stars Seán Cullen, Kellie Pickler and Blake Shelton.
Last week’s première saw Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy’s characters caught in booby traps, their prey stealing ingredients for gumbo, and the line “You know you’re a redneck if you love belt buckles, but you don’t wear pants.”
(Comedy Network — 10 p.m.)
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Former Fear Factor host and current UFC commentator Joe Rogan investigates the world’s biggest myths in Joe Rogan Questions Everything, debuting with an episode titled Bigfoot Human Hybrid. (Space — 10 p.m.)
Top Chef Masters returns for its fifth season, with Top Chef regular Gail Simmons appearing as the new head judge of the competition. (Food Network Canada — 10 p.m.)