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How The Continental Tips Its Hat To 1970s Classics Like Taxi Driver & Warriors
The hotly-anticipated spinoff takes place against the backdrop of a "hyper-styled" version of the groovy decade.
Bell-bottoms, leisure suits, elevator shoes, thick sideburns, afros, girthy neckties, massive collars, and shiny disco balls will make a fashionable comeback this Friday — September 22 — when The Continental arrives on Peacock with its "hyper-stylized" take on the 1970s, executive producer and director Albert Hughes (From Hell, The Book of Eli) recently teased.
Hughes — who helmed the first and third episodes of the limited John Wick prequel series — also promised a cavalcade of "Easter eggs" that pay tribute to the greatest pieces of pop culture from the historical period. "Everything from our favorite '70s cars, from TV shows like Starsky and Hutch to the movie Warriors,” he said during an interview with IGN. "We copied the exact taxi from Taxi Driver. Then there's commercials that we love."
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If you think about it, Travis Bickle would probably fit right in with trigger-happy escapades of this universe.
How Peacock's The Continental takes full advantage of its '70s setting
And then there's the music, which moves away from the "very cool techno-driven score" of the Wick films and into the ruling genre of the day: disco. Fans got a small taste of the groovy soundtrack in the show's two trailers, which made use of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star."
"We found this guy, Raffertie, who's very talented, who created kind of a riff on it, but very more kind of grounded in a way because techno wasn't really big in the '70s. It was disco," Hughes continued. "It's where it all came from. So, we dabbled in disco, classic rock, punk, pop, funk, all the stuff from my childhood."
Developed for television by Greg Coolidge (Ride Along), Kirk Ward (Skyward), and Shawn Simmons (creator of Wayne for YouTube Premium), The Continental centers around a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell playing the character made famous by Ian McShane on the big screen) as he seizes control of Manhattan's killer-friendly hotel known for gold currency and an extensive dinner menu.
RELATED: Where Is The Continental? How John Wick's Assassin-Friendly Hotel Fits into Real-Life New York City
Of course, the ambitious Winston has plenty of backup from his trusty concierge, Charon (Ayomide Adegun tackling the role once played by the late Lance Reddick). While Woodell admitted that he and Adegun were "super intimidated" by the prospect of recreating the electric chemistry between McShane and Reddick in the hit films, they ultimately realized that they didn't need to "force it right away."
"That is a gift for us in a prequel situation because we don't necessarily have to show it. It can just exist,” the actor added. "And a lot of the story takes place between the two of them, at least off screen. So you get to see it develop slowly over time."
Mel Gibson (Cormac), Mishel Prada (KD), Ben Robson (Frankie), Nhung Kate (Yen), Hubert Point-Du Jour (Miles), Jessica Allain (Lou), Jeremy Bobb (Mayhew), Mark Musashi (Hansel), Marina Mazepa (Gretel), Katie McGrath (The Adjudicator), and Peter Greene (Uncle Charlie) round out the principal cast.
When does The Continental premiere on Peacock?
Episode 1 of The Continental: From the World of John Wick hits Peacock this Friday — September 22. The second and third installments will debut on September 29 and October 6 respectively.
How to watch John Wick spinoff The Continental?
Peacock currently offers two monthly subscription plans: Premium ($5.99 a month with ads) and Premium Plus ($11.99 a month with no ads and download access for certain titles). If you're currently a student, you can enjoy the Premium plan for just $1.99 for an entire year.
Want more original Peacock content in the meantime? Be sure to check out Twisted Metal, Killing It, Bel-Air, A Friend of the Family, Poker Face, Joe vs. Carole, Mrs. Davis, MacGruber, and Based on a True Story
