ManningCast announces 2023 TV schedule with hilarious, star-studded promotional video
Peyton Manning and Eli Manning turned a tease for a third ManningCast host into a hilarious promotional video for the upcoming third season of their ESPN alternate broadcast.
Billed as “auditions” for the brothers’ third co-host, the former NFL quarterback duo brought in dozens of personalities from sports and entertainment to produce a sketch that also served as the reveal video for all 10 episodes of the ManningCast this season.
The season begins on Monday, Sept. 11 with Monday Night Football between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets on ESPN and the ManningCast on ESPN2. Week 1 will be one of the team’s 10 episodes, followed by broadcasts in weeks 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 15, plus, a wild card matchup too. The Week 11 broadcast even features a Super Bowl rematch between Philadelphia and Kansas City.
All-in-all, the ManningCast will have broadcasts for Bills vs. Jets, Seahawks vs. Giants, Packers vs. Raiders, 49ers vs. Vikings, Chargers vs. Jets, Broncos vs. Bills, Eagles vs. Chiefs, Bengals vs. Jaguars, and Chiefs vs. Patriots.
Mannings pull from all over Hollywood for promo video
According to Deadline, the responsibility of booking the wide-ranging list of guest appearances for the promo video went to former Ellen DeGeneres Show booker Nicole Solomowitz.
The entertainment outlet counted 35 guest appearances, including several from actors who recorded their bits before the SAG-AFTRA strikes began.
Showing up for the “auditions” were: Jared Goff; Ja’Marr Chase; TJ Hockenson; Sean McVay; Trevor Lawrence; Justin Tucker; Justin Jefferson; Dan Campbell; Dalvin Cook; Mike McDaniel; Archie Manning; Patrick Mahomes; Cam Heyward; Frank Reich; Al Michaels; Kyle Brandt; Tom Brady; Nick Sirianni; Reese Witherspoon; Will Arnett; Sarah Silverman; Lil Wayne; Pat McAfee; Mike Tyson; Kirk Cousins; Kenan Thompson; Jim Irsay; Roger Goodell; Howie Mandel; Stephen A Smith; Livvy Dunne; Ray Lewis; Sean Payton; Christian McCaffrey; and DJ Khaled.
ManningCast sticking to 10-game schedule
With the current schedule set for 10 Manning Cast broadcasts per season, and the revelation ESPN holds interest in expanding further, Eli Manning made his case for why the current format improves the quality of the product and keeps things fresh on air.
“I don’t want to see him every week and get his voice memos of breaking down (game) film,” Eli Manning said. “There’s something to people wanting more, and if we’re on too much, they might not want more. It keeps me motivated.”
Peyton Manning also dismissed the idea of covering more games moving forward following the final broadcast of the 2022-23 season.
“One thing I think comes through is just how much Eli and I enjoy this,” Peyton Manning said, via Fast Company. “We laugh a lot. If you maybe go to 17 games, maybe we’re not laughing as much, and it starts to get repetitive. ESPN has certainly mentioned going up to 12 games or more, and Eli and I held strong. We just feel the show is better if we keep it to the 10.”
Among the many guests to appear on the Manning Cast over the first two seasons, current and former players have brought unique analysis on the offense, defense and coaches making decisions on the field.
The show even gained a level of infamy among players early on as the “Manning Cast curse” struck multiple quarterbacks who made an appearance ahead of the next week’s game.
On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report.