History of the World, Part II

History of the World, Part II is an American sketch comedy limited series written and produced by Mel Brooks, Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen. The series serves as a sequel to the 1981 film written and directed by Brooks, with sketches parodying events from different periods of human history and legend. It premiered on March 6, 2023, on Hulu.

Cast

The cast features a large ensemble, including a core of several regulars who are also among the series writers:

Main

• Mel Brooks as Narrator. Orson Welles served as Narrator in History of the World, Part I (1981).
• Wanda Sykes as various characters, including Harriet Tubman, Bessie Coleman, and Shirley Chisholm.
• Nick Kroll as various characters, including Schmuck Mudman, Judas, Galileo, Henry Kissinger, and Japheth.
• Ike Barinholtz as various characters, including Ulysses S. Grant, Alexander Graham Bell, Leon Trotsky, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry VIII.

Recurring

Episodes

Production

Despite the numeration History of the World, Part I, there were initially no plans for a sequel to the 1981 film. The title was a play on The History of the World by Sir Walter Raleigh, which was intended to be published in several volumes but only the first was completed.

However, in October 2021, Hulu and Searchlight Television announced the Part II sequel series was in the works, with production beginning in spring 2022. Mel Brooks would produce and write the series along with Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, and Nick Kroll, who would also appear.

Release

The first two episodes premiered on Hulu on March 6, 2023, with the remaining episodes released over the following three days. It was released internationally on the same day as an original series on Disney+, under the dedicated streaming hub Star, on Disney+ Hotstar, and on Star+ in Latin America.

Reception

Audience viewership

According to Hulu, History of the World, Part II was the most-watched Hulu Original scripted original series of 2023 in its first week of launch.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 51 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Nick Kroll takes up the torch from Mel Brooks and does him proud with an all-star sketch series that's just as uproariously funny — and as hit-and-miss — as the original motion picture." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Accolades