Will Ferrell is set to star in the new Netflix TV show The Hawk. The move to television could solve Ferrell’s biggest career problem.
Ferrell plays Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a former number-one golfer struggling on the back nine of his career and pushing retirement. The Netflix logline reads, “With one more major to win to complete golf’s Grand Slam, Lonnie refuses to believe he’s anything other than one stroke away from the greatest comeback in golf history.”
The Hawk cast features Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Jimmy Tatro, Fortune Feimster, Luke Wilson, Chris Parnell, Katelyn Tarver, David Hornsby, Gabriel Hogan, and Aida Osman.
The Hawk is Ferrell’s first starring role on television since 2021’s The Shrink Next Door. With where comedy is going, television might be the right medium for Ferrell going forward.
How The Hawk fits Will Ferrell’s comedy better than today’s movie landscape
Ferrell became a comedy movie star in the 2000s with hits like Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, and Step Brothers. Before his foray into movies, Ferrell was best known as a television star on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2002.
In 2026, Ferrell is not the star he once was. He’s not headlining studio comedies that gross over $100 million. Those days are behind him. Looking at his theatrical slate since 2020’s Downhill, Ferrell is either in a supporting role or the star of an animated movie.
Ferrell has been slowly becoming a streaming movie star over the past five years, with lead roles in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Spirited, and You’re Cordially Invited.
Comedy has now transitioned into a streaming medium. Studios are more likely to make a streaming comedy TV show than an R-rated theatrical comedy movie. Many of Ferrell’s contemporaries in the 2000s — including Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and Seth Rogen — have all made the jump to streaming television. Ferrell is following suit.
Ferrell’s humor might not sell as many tickets as it once did. However, it now has a better chance of succeeding on a TV show in today’s landscape. Bad Monkey, Stick, and the Studio — shows with comedy movie stars — have all found audiences and received second seasons. Perhaps The Hawk can do the same.
The Hawk premieres on July 16, 2026, on Netflix.
Originally reported by Dan Girolamo for ComingSoon.
