How Netflix’s ‘The Hawk’ Reviews Stack Up Against Will Ferrell’s Movies

Aaron Epstein/Netflix

Netflix has a hit new show on its hands with The Hawk, a new Will Ferrell series where he plays a former top golfer, out of the scene for 20 years, trying to make a comeback. Not quite Happy Gilmore, but golf + unlikely star + comedy \= something hopefully quite funny.

Well, comedy is subjective, and critic reviews for The Hawk are…not great. The Rotten Tomatoes score is a rather dismal 30%, but we’re able to see how that stacks up against a number of Ferrell classics. Do they always hate on his brand of comedy? Here’s a list of a lot of his biggest projects:

Elf – 84% critic score
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – 75% critic score
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby – 71% critic score
Blades of Glory – 70% critic score
Megamind – 68% critic score
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – 66% critic score
Old School – 60% critic score
Step Brothers – 60% critic score
A Night at the Roxbury – 33% critic score
The Hawk – 30% critic score
Get Hard – 28% critic score
Semi-Pro – 22% critic score
Holmes and Watson – 10% critic score

Aaron Epstein/Netflix

So, as you can see, not great in the grand scheme of his work. You can certainly argue that critic scores are too low for some of these, and it is true that audience scores are often higher, but Ferrell has a solid catalog. Here too, The Hawk has a higher audience score, a 65%, so it’s possible that it may be worth a watch regardless of what critics think. That said, relatively few audience reviews are in just yet.

The Hawk is ten 30-minute episodes, so a breezy watch in the streaming age, particularly as it’s been dumped out as a binge, Netflix-style. The Hawk has passed up Little House on the Prairie, the already-renewed drama that previously was number one. The Hawk is ahead of I Will Find You, which has proven to be an exceedingly popular Harlan Coben adaptation after staying on the chart for weeks. There is cross-promotion going on with the #6 show on the top 10 list, which is Ferrell, in character from The Hawk, appearing on the Hot Ones interview show. Bringing up the rear is a new Korean series,The East Palace, which so far has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is certainly eye-catching, to say the least.

We will see how The Hawk performs over time, and if it does well enough to get a second season. Ferrell is a big audience draw, even after all this time, and I would expect the series to do well, even if critics are not the biggest fans.

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