The League

The League
Format	Improvisational comedy
Created by	Jeff Schaffer Jackie Schaffer
Starring	Mark Duplass Nick Kroll Stephen Rannazzisi Paul Scheer Jon Lajoie Katie Aselton
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	58 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jeff Schaffer Jackie Schaffer
Running time	20–23 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s)	Chicken Sticks FX Productions
Distributor	20th Television
Broadcast
Original channel	FX (2009–2013) FXX (2013–present)
Original run	October 29, 2009 – present
External links
Website

The League is an American sitcom that premiered on FX on October 29, 2009. The series, set in Winnetka, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy about a fantasy football league, its members, and their everyday lives.^[1] The fifth season premiered on September 4, 2013, on FXX.^[2]

Synopsis

The series revolves around six friends who participate in a fantasy football league. The show follows the friends, who will do anything to win, while also dealing with a variety of situations that occur in their everyday lives.

Cast

Main characters

• Mark Duplass as Peter "Pete" Eckhart: Three-time league champion who separates from his wife Meegan (played by Leslie Bibb) in the pilot episode. Several episodes revolve around his interaction with women. Pete is known for tricking his gullible friends (particularly Taco and Andre) into making poor fantasy football trades ("Trade Raped" is the term in the show). He works in a cubicle, though avoids doing actual work as much as possible, However in the Season 5 episode "The Automatic Faucet", he was done with Fantasy football and focused on work and land him a promotion by helping his boss with a staff lineup. He created and is commissioner of the "Sacko" award, a trophy created during the episode "The Reunion" that is given to the worst team in the league. Still holds the North Winnetka High School pole vault record. He once got a "Fear Boner" when he went to pick up Bears tickets from a man he met in the park.

• Stephen Rannazzisi as Kevin MacArthur: An assistant district attorney, Kevin is also the league commissioner from Seasons 1–3 as well as Pete's best friend. Because he has difficulty competing in the league on his own, he often takes football knowledge from his wife, Jenny. As a result, the other guys take it for granted that Jenny really runs Kevin's team. Jenny eventually joins the league herself after Ruxin's brother-in-law, Rafi, leaves the league. He had never won the Shiva, the award given to the league winners (named after Shivakamini Somakandarkram: a high school classmate to whom Kevin lost his virginity). In college he got a "Fear Boner" when somebody asked for directions who he thought was going to mug him. Kevin wins in the finale of Season 3, however it was declared null by Ruxin due to collusion and lies, until Kevin agreed to give Ruxin the role of commissioner and to let him have naming rights to his newborn. Kevin has been highnotized (hypnotized under the influence of marijuana) by his brother Taco. His best friend Pete and his wife Jenny have also similarly programmed him using dog training techniques. Kevin has a young daughter named Ellie, (age 8) whose foul mouth comes from her parents, and a son who Taco names Chalupa Batman MacArthur, born on the first episode of Season 4; in the next episode, he is renamed Christopher Benjamin. In the premier of Season 5 he takes Ted's AIDS medication cocktail because he believes the drugs helped Ted win the Shiva.

• Nick Kroll as Rodney Ruxin: A Jewish product-liability attorney, he is just as ruthless and obnoxious in the league as he is in the courtroom. He "out-kicked his coverage' with his wife, and therefore goes to great lengths to please her. He is constantly torn between needing to please his wife and his desire to crush his opponents in the league. In many episodes, and all of Season 3, Ruxin is extremely paranoid, often thinking that his opponents are "trying to get into his head," or that other members of the league are "in collusion" to cheat him, but his paranoid hunches have been correct on at least two occasions in ("Expert Witness") and ("The Lockout"). In the episode "The Bounce Test", the character himself describes his physical appearance as follows: "I look like a Nazi propaganda cartoon of a Jew." He and Sofia currently have one child named Geoffrey ("Baby Geoffrey") and own a dog named Cale (the name Kevin told Ruxin in confidence that he and Jenny wanted to name their next child if it was a boy). Despite it being his first name, he hates being referred to as "Rodney" and prefers it when people call him Ruxin, although his sister, Rebecca (Lizzy Caplan), calls him the "Rod-man," and Taco sometimes calls him "Rusband" which he also hates. He won the league championship at the end of season 2. When he was in high school he had a reputation for dating large women, giving him the nickname "The Herdsman." He inherited his sarcastic nature from his father, Rupert (Jeff Goldblum), who also prefers his friends call him Ruxin. After catching Kevin in his "clown car of lies", he declares Season 3 to be null and void and claims himself as winner via default, after miraculously healing from the after-effects of a stress-induced stroke from discovering the collusion (due to the appearance of Shiva). He then agrees that the events of Season 3 of the television show--Season 7 of the league itself--would count in exchange for becoming the new league commissioner and for the naming rights to Kevin and Jenny's newborn, the latter of which he trades to Taco for his #1 draft pick. The character is a graduate of Northwestern University.

• Paul Scheer as Dr. Andre Nowzick: A bald, rich plastic surgeon whose naïveté makes him the brunt of many jokes. He wears what he believes to be trendy clothing, for which he is mercilessly mocked by his friends. He tries to be cool by using current slang, particularly the jargon of hip-hop culture, but he is constantly rebuked by his friends and others, such as professional football player Chad Johnson. Andre wins the Shiva at the end of Season 1 after entering a committed relationship with Shivakamini Somakandarkram (the person whose name graces the league trophy). He's hosted the first three drafts; at his house, then in Las Vegas, and then in the third season was locked out of his house during the draft as a part of the Sacko punishment, leaving time for Dirty Randy (Seth Rogen) to create a poor-budgeted porno based loosely on Andre's life. In the first episode of the second season he renamed the trophy "the Dre" which was then renamed by the rest of the crew as "the SheDre" (A hybrid of "Shiva" and "Dre"). The worship of a false god in "the Dre" results in bad luck, which is nicknamed "Draids". His Draids resulted in the worst record in the league and ultimately recipient of the Sacko. Andre's sister, (played by Sarah Silverman), has had sex with everyone in the league except Andre, Jenny, and Ruxin.

• Jon Lajoie as Taco MacArthur: Kevin's younger brother, a perpetually stoned and unemployed musician. He doesn't care or know much about football, evident by his attempts to draft Canadian football players during the draft and his tendency to draft and placekickers. He has won the league championship at least once in 2006, evident by his handwritten name on the trophy. He hooks up with women easily, and lives via handouts from his brother Kevin and "Eskimo family tree" (people who have slept with women he has slept with), making his own food (thousand year old eggs) and making his own personal hygiene products, such as deodorant. He also makes ringtones (Horse Orgasm or, "Horsegasm"). For one episode, Taco takes martial arts, specializing in use of a naginata (a long pole with a blade at the end) and studies of naginatajutsu. He usually means well but his acts of kindness usually have disastrous results. He is perhaps the most emotional member of the league, prone to crying when his feelings are hurt. In the unrated version of season 1, Ruxin claimed that the reason Taco is such a "frittata" is because they made him smoke marijuana when he was 8. Between seasons 2 and 3, Taco travels around the world and becomes a soap opera star in Algeria where he plays a stupid American. Taco enjoys keeping bongs (which he calls "guest bongs") in all of his friends' houses for him to use.

• Katie Aselton as Jenny MacArthur: Kevin's wife, who helps him run his team and has as much enthusiasm for the league as the actual members do during season 1. When Kevin loses a bet to Pete in Season 1, Jenny is forced to streak since she is clearly the manager for Kevin's team. For season 2, Jenny wanted her own team for the league, but the members voted to give the vacant spot to Ruxin's brother-in-law, Rafi. This makes Jenny angry at her husband and seeks revenge by helping Ruxin draft instead of her husband. She is introduced into the league during that same season to replace Rafi (Ruxin's brother-in-law) and would eventually lose to Ruxin's team in the Shiva Bowl. Her foul mouth equals that of husband Kevin's and is evident in their daughter Ellie's swearing (who is said to be a "dick" kid). At the end of Season 3, she reveals to Kevin that she is pregnant. She gives birth to a baby boy in the first episode of Season 4. She defeated Andre in the Shiva Bowl at the end of Season 5.

Recurring characters

• Nadine Velazquez as Sofia Ruxin, Ruxin's Latina wife. She is good friends with Taco, who is the only one of Ruxin's friends that she gets along with.
• Jason Mantzoukas as Rafi, Sofia's deranged and really obnoxious brother, aka "Brolo el Cuñado." Friends with porn director "Dirty Randy" played by Seth Rogen. Often disgusting and outrageous. Down for anything no matter what, to an extreme. He always calls Kevin "Brian" and Pete "Tall Guy." His residence has a whole bunch of chairs stacked up and has a "toilet-kitchen." He is a diabetic. He gets "murder boners" when practicing his MMA skills and gets a "War Boner" when playing paintball. He thinks that he is Baby Geoffrey's true father. Many times when he vomits, he defecates. Many times when he defecates, he orgasms. Due to Ruxin's sarcasm he took on the role of playing Bobbum Man in real life. He is injured by Dirty Randy in a Duel.
• Alina Foley as Ellie MacArthur, Jenny and Kevin's young daughter. She has inherited her parents' profane language.
• Janina Gavankar as Shivakamini Somakandarkram, a doctor who was the valedictorian of most of the league members' graduating high-school class. She is a urologist, specializing in genital reconstruction. Usually appears on the penultimate or season finales of the season, given that she is the "patron deity" of their league's trophy. They each present an item to the trophy, which contains a high school photo of her. The only odd-episode-out is "The High-School Reunion" where she was present with the league, revealing that Pete's mother's windshield wasn't busted by a high school friend, but rather by Kevin when he lost his virginity to Shiva. Shiva cursed the 2012 season of the league because they would not take her picture off the trophy.
• Adam Karchmer as Geoffrey Ruxin, Ruxin and Sofia's son. Ruxin calls him "Baby Geoffrey" although he's a toddler.
• Rob Huebel as Dr. Russell Deramo, a doctor and friend of the gang's. He first appears in "The Draft", where he attends Andre's party. He returns in "The Kluneberg", where it is revealed that he moved to New York, but returned saying New York was too crowded and too full of "crazy people". He later reveals that he is a sex addict, and invites Jenny to join his league. He later replaces her with Rafi, allowing her to join the league. In Season 5, he is a member of Rafi's Domination League with "Dirty Randy."
• Leslie Bibb as Meegan Eckhart, Pete's abrasive ex-wife. They fought constantly. After she gave away his lucky draft shirt, Pete realized that they were not meant to be together and they separated. They finalized the divorce, and she was left with only the house. She had requested their Benjamin Button DVD, presumably knowing that it contained a disk with a sex video she had made with Pete, but Pete had already snuck into her house and stolen it, aided by Kevin; Pete never gives it back. She was later seen dating an older man named Ted.
• Seth Rogen as Dirty Randy – Rafi's friend, who works as a librarian and a pornographer. The reason he works at the library is for the infrastructure and says "it's a place where you can find desperate people and you can pay them in drugs and alcohol to work as part of the porn production team." Before he was a porn director, he was homeless, kicked out of the military, crack dealer, and porn location scout. He met Rafi in an asylum, an experience he describes as "very romantic". He believes that puns "are as vital to the porn business as they are to the pet shop and children's barbershop industries." He directed such movies as the controversial "Shitler's List" (the controversy was that it was shot in black and white), "Toe-Bangers 3" (The SEAL Team-Six member who shot Bin Ladin found a copy of it in the compound, but the Government will not release the footage), "Dr. Andre Nodick," and "12.12.12: The Mayan Cockandlips" (filmed in the loft Deion Sanders bought from Andre). In Season 5, he is also a member of Rafi's "Domination League." He threatens Ruxin with a trident made out of dildos.
• Brie Larson as Ashley, Baby Geoffrey's former au pair. She was hired partially due to her good looks. Pete quickly begins sleeping with her, which causes her to neglect her au pair duties. Ruxin wants to fire her, but she ends up extorting him, threatening to tell Sofia that he was masturbating to her photo (he was actually wiping pee off his pants) unless he continues to pay her for doing nothing. In order to get her to quit, Ruxin enlisted Rafi to hit on her, which ends up backfiring when she brings Rafi into bed with her and Pete to do the "Golden Gate Bridge". Rafi eventually talks her into quitting and moving in with him, which is in Ruxin's home.

Notable guest stars

• Matt Walsh as Mr. Friedman -- "Freaky Friedman" or "The Oracle"'s father. (Season 1 - Pilot)
• Thomas Lennon as Bryce – Pete and Meegan's mediator
• Bobby Lee as Chu – a local "frittata" and patron of a local Chinese restaurant
• Craig Bierko as Craig O'Connor – Kevin's boss
• Brooke Nevin as Lily -- Kevin's co-worker and for a brief moment, Taco's girlfriend. Referred to by Kevin as a "goody-two-shoes."
• Janet Montgomery as Ambrosia – Las Vegas stripper who has a vast knowledge in fantasy football.
• Brandon Johnson as Dr. Maxwell - A plastic surgeon who Andre wants to get into a medical partnership
• Lake Bell as Brooke – Pete's girlfriend, and Kevin's ex-girlfriend. Nicknamed "The White Knuckler"
• Alison Becker as Darcy - A girl Pete went out with on Halloween, and a practicing Wiccan
• Jamey Sheridan as Ted – Meegan's new boyfriend who is significantly older and has a heart attack at Ruxin's anniversary party
• Michael Hitchcock as Ed - A man Pete meets in the park. He offers Pete Bears tickets. Gives Pete a Fear Boner.
• Alia Shawkat as April – A courtroom artist and Taco's girlfriend
• Ike Barinholtz as Frank "The Body" Gibiatti – Ruxin's high school rival
• Martin Starr as Stu Pompeu – Pete's high school rival, nicknamed "Box of Frogs"
• Lindsay Sloane as Lindsey Martin - Ellie's teacher who is also dating Pete. Breaks Pete's dick because of her constant kegel exercises
• Lloyd Ahlquist as Dr. Andre NoDick -- Dirty Randy's porn star.
• Kayden Kross as Kayden a porn star in the Dr. Andre NoDick porno
• Rick Shapiro as Bum – A homeless man
• Stephanie Lemelin as Waitress -- Was briefly hooking up with Pete during "The Marathon" episode.
• Ray Liotta as Mr. Hudabega – Ruxin's boss. He is a germaphobe.
• Keegan-Michael Key as Steve (Carmenjello) – A janitor who Andre attempts to befriend after unintentionally upsetting him by calling him "Carmenjello," thinking that was his name, but finds out that it is the name of the janitorial service that Steve works for.
• Sarah Silverman as Heather Nowzick – Andre's promiscuous sister
• Jeff Goldblum as Rupert Ruxin – Rodney's father
• Will Forte as Chuck – One of the league's two out of town members, and a recovering alcoholic. Has the nickname, "Two-Nut Chuck." In Season 5 Episode 1 it is mentioned that he is in rehab again
• Eliza Dushku as Kristen – Kevin's Krav Maga instructor
• Deon Cole as Mugger – Tries to rob Kevin and Kristen the Krav Maga instructor after class.
• T.J. Miller as Gabriel – A member of a religious cult called "The Light of Genesis" who tries to recruit Ruxin.
• Brett Gelman as Gavin – An ex-convict Kevin prosecuted. He is the father of Ellie's friend Chloe
• Chris Tallman as Mr. Swall – The human resources representative at Ruxin's firm
• Allison Williams as Danielle – Pete's controlling girlfriend. Decides to make Pete's roster and beer selections
• Marianne Muellerleile as Bernice
• Timothy Olyphant as Wesley-san – A sushi chef at Spuki Sushi. He is white but acts Asian. Claims to be from O-ma-ha.
• Ryan Hansen as Ben – Jenny's ex-boyfriend, and friend of Kevin and Andre's. In Season 4, it is divulged that he and Jenny once had sex six times in one day ("The Freezeout").
• Julia Duffy as Martha - Kevin and Taco's mother who dislikes Jenny and considers Taco the more successful of the two brothers, seemingly oblivious to his shortcomings.
• Kristin Cavallari as herself – Appears in Kevin and Jenny's "Mommy & Me" class. Jenny steals her breast milk.
• Ken Marino as Donnie "The Seed" Sadowski – A bully from high school who used to jerk off in his hand and rub it on your head. Friends with Frank Gibiatti
• J. B. Smoove as Wheelchair Guy (DeRon)– Buys the last pair of Vapora Sport Sneakers out from under Pete. Pete steals the sneakers back.
• Ingrid Haas as Michelle - a coworker of Ruxin. Ruxin is convinced she is having sex with Mr. Hudabega
• Robert Wagner as Gumpa Duke - Pete's promiscuous grandpa who pretends to be losing his mind so that he can hook up at the retirement home
• Lee Meriwether as Gumma Eve - Pete's grandma who is married to Gumpa Duke.
• John Ross Bowie as Dr. Pete Wyland - Gives Kevin a colonoscopy. Insists on being called Pete and has a nurse named Jenny.
• Brooklyn Decker as Gina Gibiatti – Frank Gibiatti's sister who briefly dates Pete. Then dates Adrian Peterson.
• Jayma Mays as Trixie – Andre's interior decorator, then fiancée. She is allergic to his semen. She breaks off the engagement after discovering the Secret Draft on her wedding weekend and then subsequently blinding herself with Andre's semen-filled pee bib while crying. At the end Taco calls her Pixie instead of Trixie.
• Bob Odenkirk as Mall Manager – Fights with Taco over Krampus and Ruxin over Christmas music.
• Adam Brody as Ted – The other out-of-town member of the league and winner of The Shiva in season 4. Has AIDS.
• Jorma Taccone as Spazz - a member of Rafi's 'Domination League'.
• Griffin Dunne and Glenne Headly as Andre's parents.
• Snoop Dogg as himself. One of Taco's "eskimo brothers."
• Christine Lakin as "Pete's girl."
• Dana White as The Falcon's enforcer. Kills Dirty Randy and Rafi's friend Spazz
• Will Sasso as Police Officer. Rafi and Dirty Randy thinks he is a Nazi.
• Kevin Nealon as Chuck Falcon. Porn Kingpin who is known as the Steve Jobs of Porn. Killed by Dirty Randy.
• Ali Larter as Georgia Thompson. Unhappily married woman who initiates an affair with Pete.
• Erin Heatherton as Coach Crowley. Ellie's intimidating basketball coach.
• Lizzy Caplan as Rebecca Ruxin - Rodney's sister
• Aziz Ansari as Dr. Hector Rocha. Plastic surgery rival of Andre.

Notable NFL players and analysts as guest stars

• NFL on Fox analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw in Season 1 Episode 3 "Sunday at Ruxin's"
• San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates in Season 1 Episode 4 'Mr. McGibblets"
• Then Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson in Season 2 Episode 1 "Vegas Draft"
• Cleveland Browns kick return specialist Josh Cribbs and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs in Season 2 Episode 3 "The White Knuckler"
• Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, then Atlanta Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes and then Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice in Season 3 Episode 1 "The Lockout"
• ESPN fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry in Season 3 Episode 3 "The Au Pair"
• Chicago Bears running back Matt Forté in Season 3 Episode 13 "The Funeral"
• Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Matt Kalil, Ryan Kalil, Felix Jones, Brandon Carr, Jason Witten, Jay Ratliff, DeSean Jackson, Rich Eisen, Chris Brockman and Jerry Jones in Season 4 Episode 1 "Training Camp"
• Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in Season 4 Episode 5 "Judge MacArthur"
• Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon in Season 4 Episode 6 "The Tailgate"
• NFL Network analyst and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in Season 4 Episode 11 "12.12.12"
• Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in Season 4 Episode 13 "The Curse of Shiva"
• Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt in Season 5 Episodes 1 and 2 "The Bachelor Draft" and "The Von Nowzick Wedding"
• Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh in Season 5 Episode 1 "The Bachelor Draft"
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman in Season 5 Episode 2 "The Von Nowzick Wedding"
• Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in Season 5 Episode 3 "Chalupa vs. the Cutlet"
• Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings in Season 5 Episode 10 "The Near Death Flex-perience"
• San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis in Season 5 Episode 12 "Baby Geoffrey Jesus"

Leagues

The League's fictional league

Teams

• Unknown 8th member (drops out in 2007)
  • Andre – "The Double Ent-Andres" (formerly "The Ooh, Ruxin Got Serveds", "The I Had Allergies", "The Twilight Breaking Dawn-dres" and "The James B-Andres") (replaces unknown 8th member in 2007)
• Kevin – "Too Hot to Handle" (formerly "The Ruxin Looks Like a Middle-Aged Lesbians", "The Fighting MacArthurs", and "The Pleasures of Andre's Sister")
• Pete – "3-Pete"
• Ruxin – "Pete Top/Kevin Bottom" (formerly "The Kevin's Micro Dongs", "The MacArthur's Crotch Nubbs", "The Andre Cried While Watching "Jumanjis"", and "The Fear Boners")
• Taco – "Password is Taco" (formerly "The Encino Men")
• Vince (drops out in 2010)
  • Rafi (replaces Vince in 2010)
    • Jenny – "The Lady MacArthurs" (replaces Rafi midway through 2010)
• Chuck – "Stephen Hawking's Cleats"
• Ted – "The Balls Deeper"

Season-by-season results

– * The Sacko Bowl was not introduced until the sixth season of league play. Whoever loses the Sacko Bowl wins the Sacko trophy, meaning they came in last place.

– ** Due to Ruxin discovering the league colluded to keep him from getting the top draft pick, Kevin was stripped of his championship and the 2011 season of The League was declared null and void, to be sent off by a Norse funeral. However, before the 2012 season, Kevin got his championship reinstated by trading his role as commissioner to Ruxin along with naming rights to his and Jenny's son. Ruxin later traded the naming rights to Taco in exchange for Taco's first round draft pick. Jenny gives birth to their son, and Taco announces the name, "Chalupa Batman MacArthur".

- *** Taco "Won" the Sacko the first season, but it was overruled after the points had been counted, meaning that Andre was the first to win the Sacko, which started the trend "first to worst".

Production

The League was given a pilot order on July 15, 2009, with the pilot written by Jeff Schaffer and Jackie Schaffer and Jeff Schaffer also directing. The series is executive produced by Jeff Schaffer, Jackie Schaffer and the production company, FX Productions.

When the series was given a pilot order several roles were cast, with Mark Duplass playing Pete Eckhart, Stephen Rannazzisi playing Kevin MacArthur, Nick Kroll playing Rodney Ruxin, Paul Scheer playing Andre Nowzick, Jon Lajoie playing Taco MacArthur and Katie Aselton playing Jenny MacArthur.^[3]

The League was given a series order on August 20, 2009 with six episodes.^[4] A second 13-episode season of The League premiered on September 16, 2010 on FX.^[5] On January 15, 2011, it was announced that the series had been picked up for a third season,^[6] which premiered on October 6, 2011.^[7]

On December 13, 2011, The League was renewed for a fourth season of 13 episodes which premiered on October 11, 2012.^[8]

On December 20, 2012, The League was renewed for a fifth season of 13 episodes.^[9]

On March 28, 2013, It was announced that The League was renewed for a sixth season on top of the already announced fifth season and that the show would be moving to the FXX network.

DVD release

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The League

• Official site
• The League at the Internet Movie Database
• The League's Fantasy League