Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery announced the “outrageous prank special” Foul Play with Anthony Davis, a half-hour special with the Impractical Jokers team as executive producers that was set to premiere on TBS on Feb. 16 immediately after the NBA All-Star Game.
However, the larger prank may have been the shocking news late Saturday night that Davis was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks in an exchange that saw Los Angeles land Luka Dončić.
That raised questions about this Davis-focused special, considering how Los Angeles-centric the announcement was. A WBD spokesperson has confirmed to Awful Announcing that the show is “still airing on the 16th after the NBA All-Star Game as planned.”
There’s at least some potential for this to be rather awkward. While the show is set to go forward despite that trade, the initial WBD release here (from Jan. 27) leaned heavily on Davis’ Los Angeles connections. And it mentioned only Los Angeles-based players/coaches/managers.
From the mischievous minds of the Impractical Jokers and nine-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis comes “Foul Play with Anthony Davis”, a docu-style unscripted comedy that gives some of the greatest athletes in the world one shot to score a great prank, or foul out trying. The half-hour special is set to air immediately following the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 16 on TBS.
As prank ringleader, Davis taps famous friends including World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodger Mookie Betts, WNBA Los Angeles Sparks’ star Cameron Brink and Brooklyn Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell, to join him in his hijinks. Together, with an assist from the Impractical Jokers, they foil unsuspecting colleagues with pranks including a fake fundraising charity event with Clippers’ shooting guard Terance Mann, an off-the-rails promotional shoot with LA Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, and a statue unveiling gone awry with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Foul Play with Anthony Davis” will show the audience how everything comes together…and how easily it can fall apart.
“Most people don’t know, but I have a passion for pranks. Whether it’s pranking my teammates or friends and family, I love making people laugh and doing whatever it takes to bring some joy and fun to the situation,” said Davis. “Thank you to Impractical Jokers, TBS and the whole team for helping bring my vison for this show to life.”
“When AD came to play with us on Impractical Jokers, we were blown away by his sense of humor, stunning (yes, stunning) charisma and absolute commitment to the bit. He can shoot hoops pretty good, we guess, but the man was born for messing with people and making people laugh,” said James Murray, Brian Quinn, and Sal Vulcano. “It was a no brainer, and a hell of a good time, to help him bring his idea to life. The court side seats are just a bonus for us. Can’t wait for people to see this.”
While many are split on the merits of Impractical Jokers, that series (featuring Murray, Quinn, and Vulcano, and key to truTV’s identity in particular before their recent sports-focused makeover) has been extremely successful for WBD through 10 seasons thus far. Davis’ appearance in a 2023 episode of the show did draw a lot of comment, so it’s understandable where this special concept came from.
One of the biggest pranks of all may be how what sounds like an extremely Los Angeles-centric show featuring Davis, who’s now in Dallas, is still set to air after the NBA All-Star Game. If this was already shot, taking some social media heat over awkwardness is probably better than just killing the whole project (although WBD has done that in other circumstances), and there’s even the chance that there might be higher viewership here from the awkwardness. But it’s at least amusing that a special featuring Davis and various Los Angeles sports figures is set to air even after he’s well-removed from that city.
