The star-studded cast of the upcoming comedy “Mr. Birchum” just got brighter with the addition of former ESPN anchor Sage Steele.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the premiere of the animated comedy starring comedy legend Adam Carolla in the titular role. The ensemble cast includes previously announced personalities including Danny Trejo, Rob Riggle, Patrick Warburton, Tyler Fischer, Alonzo Bodden, Kyle Dunnigan, Jay Mohr, Megyn Kelly, and Brett Cooper.
Steele joins the cast in the role of Deena, who is married to Mr. Birchum’s best friend Gage.
The TV host made headlines in 2021 for speaking out against ESPN’s vaccine mandates. Steele later sued ESPN and settled the case in 2023 before leaving the sports network. She currently hosts “The Sage Steele Show” on YouTube, which Bill Maher announced last month as the first show for his newly launched podcast network Club Random Studios.
Steele said she was excited to be part of the comedy dream team on “Mr. Birchum.”
“When I got the call from Adam and the Daily Wire team to be part of ‘Mr. Birchum,’ it was a no-brainer for me!” the sports anchor said in a statement.
“I’m a huge fan of everyone involved and am honored to be included in such a powerhouse lineup of comedians. In this insane cultural moment, it’s more important than ever to speak the truth, even when it’s unpopular. ‘Mr. Birchum’ does this in such a hilarious fashion, and I’m thrilled to be part of such a fun, unapologetic project.”
Adam Carolla voices Mr. Birchum, a no-nonsense teacher navigating Teddy Roosevelt Junior High with his family — Wendi (Kelly), Eddie (Dunnigan), and stepdaughter Jeanie (Cooper). Partnering with his friend Gage (Bodden), Mr. Birchum faces off against a progressive poster child for change, the fanatical social justice warrior, Karponzi (Fischer).
Birchum also has the help of some fantasy mentors including the ghost of his gym teacher, Coach Murphy (Mohr) and the frozen dinner icon Burly Man (Warburton). Barr plays Principal Bortles while Riggle appears as Birchum’s nemesis, Gunderson. Trejo, meanwhile, is a reformed gang member named Switchblade.
The show was first announced at the premiere of The Daily Wire’s first ever feature length comedy, “Lady Ballers.” Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing previously discussed why comedies like “Mr. Birchum” have become so integral in the entertainment world.
“Adam Carolla created Birchum back before Barack Obama killed comedy,” Boreing said in December. “Of course Hollywood wouldn’t make Birchum today because they’ve stopped making comedies altogether for fear of offending the ‘wrong’ people – so we realized we had to do it.”
“We teamed up with Adam and some of the funniest people we know – Roseanne, Rob Riggle, Patrick Warburton, Tyler Fischer and so many more – to bring back the irreverent patriarch in a truly hilarious comedy that doesn’t care who it offends,” he added.
Kelly agreed that being part of the cast was “so fun.”
“I really just did this because Adam asked me to, and I love Adam. I was like, this is not my thing — I’m usually pretty good at knowing what my ‘thing’ is. And they were like, ‘just try it, just try it!’ It was so fun. I cracked up, I was crying when I saw the script,” she said of the project.
“There’s so much goodness for our side, the side of normalcy, the side that doesn’t get offended at everything,” Kelly continued. “It’s just refreshing to be a part of something like that.”
“Mr. Birchum” premieres Sunday, May 12, on DailyWire+.