Honestly, nobody actually expected Mel Brooks to deliver on the "coming attractions" from 1981. If you grew up watching History of the World, Part I, that teaser for "Jews in Space" and "Hitler on Ice" was just a gag. It was the ultimate punchline to a movie that basically dared you to take it seriously. Then, four decades later, Hulu drops a trailer and suddenly History of the World Part II Mel Brooks is an actual thing. It’s wild.
We're talking about a man who was 96 years old when this series finally hit screens in March 2023. Most people his age are just trying to remember where they put their glasses, but Brooks was busy executive producing an eight-episode sketch odyssey. He didn't just slap his name on it for a paycheck either. He’s the narrator. He’s in the writers' room. He’s the one telling you that "it's good to be the king" even when the king is pushing a century.
The 42-Year Wait for History of the World Part II
For years, the title Part I was the joke itself. It was a riff on Sir Walter Raleigh’s The History of the World, a massive book from 1614 that stayed unfinished because Raleigh got executed. Brooks loved that bit of trivia. He never intended to make a sequel. But then the world changed, streaming became a thing, and Nick Kroll got a phone call that would make any comedy nerd faint.
Kroll, along with Wanda Sykes and Ike Barinholtz, became the creative engine that actually got this boat in the water. They had a massive task. How do you follow up a movie that has the "Spanish Inquisition" musical number? You don't try to out-do it; you just "Mel it up," as Wanda Sykes put it.
They decided to ditch the movie format for a limited series. It makes sense. Modern comedy lives in the sketch world—think I Think You Should Leave or Kroll’s own Kroll Show. By making it a series, they could breathe. Instead of rushing through the Stone Age, they could spend four nights jumping between the Russian Revolution and a sitcom version of Shirley Chisholm’s life.
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Who is Actually in This Thing?
The cast list looks like someone robbed an Emmy after-party. Seriously, it's everyone. You've got:
- Wanda Sykes as Harriet Tubman and Shirley Chisholm.
- Nick Kroll as Judas, Galileo, and a mud-seller named Schmuck Mudman.
- Ike Barinholtz as Ulysses S. Grant and Leon Trotsky.
- Josh Gad playing a very stressed-out William Shakespeare.
- Johnny Knoxville as Rasputin (because who else would play a man who can’t be killed?).
Jack Black shows up. So does Taika Waititi. Even Quinta Brunson and Zazie Beetz get in on the action. It’s a literal who’s who of comedy. But the soul of the show is still Brooks. His voice-over provides that gravelly, comforting authority that tells you it’s okay to laugh at a "Kama Souptra" joke.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Tone
A lot of critics complained that it didn't feel exactly like the 1981 film. Well, yeah. The 1981 film was a parody of "Big Hollywood" epics like The Ten Commandments. In 2023 and 2024, we don't really watch those anymore. We watch documentaries, MasterClasses, and reality TV.
So, History of the World Part II Mel Brooks parodies those instead.
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- There’s a segment where Sigmund Freud (Taika Waititi) does a MasterClass on psychoanalysis.
- There’s a "The Real Concubines of Kublai Khan" reality show.
- The Last Supper is reimagined through the lens of Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back documentary.
If you go in expecting a 1:1 carbon copy of the original movie's pacing, you're gonna be confused. It's faster. It's weirder. It’s definitely more diverse, which was a conscious choice by the new writers to reflect "history" as it actually happened, rather than just the Western version.
The Highlights (and the Stuff That Flopped)
Let’s be real: sketch comedy is a gamble. Not every joke lands. The Seth Rogen "Noah’s Ark but only for dogs" bit? Kind of a mid-tier joke that went on a little long for some people. But when it hits, it hits hard.
The Shirley Chisholm segments are arguably the smartest part of the series. Framed as a 70s multicam sitcom called Shirley!, complete with a laugh track and "very special episode" vibes, it manages to be actually funny while highlighting a woman who was a total powerhouse in real-life politics. It’s the kind of satire Brooks always excelled at—using a "dumb" format to say something pretty sharp.
Then you have the Civil War arc. Ike Barinholtz as a drunk, bumbling Ulysses S. Grant trying to find Abraham Lincoln's son is classic slapstick. It feels like Blazing Saddles met Drunk History. There’s even a nod to the famous campfire scene from Blazing Saddles, because you can't have a Mel Brooks project without some high-quality gross-out humor.
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Is It Worth Your Time?
If you’re a fan of the "Brooksian" style—puns, breaking the fourth wall, and musical numbers about terrible things—then yes. It’s a victory lap for a legend. It’s also a bridge. It shows that the specific brand of irreverent, Jewish-influenced, "nobody is safe" comedy that Brooks pioneered still has a place in a world that’s often way too serious.
Critics were split. Some called it "stinking on ice," while others saw it as a "worthy successor." Honestly, comedy is subjective. You’re either the person who laughs at a guy named "Schmuck Mudman" or you aren't.
How to Watch and What to Do Next
The series is currently streaming on Hulu (and Disney+ in some regions). It consists of eight episodes, roughly 30 minutes each. You can binge the whole thing in a weekend.
Pro-tip for the best experience:
- Watch Part I first. If you haven't seen the 1981 movie in a while, the "Hitler on Ice" payoff in Part II won't hit as hard.
- Look for the Easter eggs. There are nods to Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, and The Producers hidden in the background of almost every episode.
- Check out the "Making Of" specials. Hulu released some behind-the-scenes footage that shows Mel Brooks in the room with the younger comics. Seeing the 96-year-old master still pitching jokes is better than half the stuff on TikTok.
Whether we get a Part III remains to be seen. Given that it took 42 years for this one, maybe check back in 2065. For now, we've got eight episodes of chaos that prove Mel Brooks is, and probably always will be, the funniest person in the room.