‘The Franchise’ Introduces a Disgusting New Superhero: Nick Kroll’s The Gurgler

HBO‘s The Franchise has already ripped into the rampant misogyny in online fandoms, movie stars’ not-so-secret dependence on banned substances to stay in superhero shape, and the sheer chaos of making tentpole films, but this week’s episode tears into those ubiquitous shoehorned cameos in modern comic book flicks. The Franchise Episode 4 “Scene 83: Enter the Gurgler” opens with the cast and crew of Techto: Eye of the Storm enthusiastically awaiting the arrival of the studio’s most beloved superhero, Many Man. So when Nick Kroll shows up as “The Gurgler,” panic sets in.

So who exactly is The Gurgler and why does he cause such mayhem? Here’s what you know about Nick Kroll’s character on HBO’s The Franchise: Kyle, aka The Gurgler.

HBO’s The Franchise is a new satirical comedy series created by Jon Brown and executive produced by Armando Iannucci that skewers the mayhem surrounding the production of a big budget superhero movie called Techto: Eye of the Storm. The one person keeping the production barely glued together is First Assistant Director Dan (Himesh Patel), a legit fan of the original comics who endures slight after slight on a day-to-day basis. When Dan sees that they will have to shoehorn The Gurgler into Techto, instead of the popular Many Man, he falls into even more despair than usual.

According to Dan, The Gurgler is the “worst Centurian on the team,” thanks in huge part to his underwhelming superpower. “He hocks up toxic mucus,” Dan explains.

“Throat-based protein blobs,” studio head Shane’s omnipresent assistant Bryce corrects.

However, The Gurgler’s arrival upends production on Techto in more ways than one. Besides forcing the production to improvise on the fly, Kyle, the actor who plays The Gurgler, has history with Techto‘s titular leading man, Adam. The two actors played brothers on a sitcom called Brad and Butter. Adam was Brad, the “hot” brother, while Kyle was “Butter,” the “fat” one forced to endure humiliating situations for laughs.  

Kyle is not only jealous of Adam’s successes, but also might, uh, be in love with him? The nature of Kyle’s obsession twists and turns over the course of the episode, thanks in part to comic Nick Kroll’s mercurial performance. Kroll’s trademark chaotic energy also comes into play in the many scenes where Kyle either hazes Adam with jokes or attempts to improvise on set.

Improvisation on superhero sets has been common practice in the industry ever since it worked so well on the original Iron Man film. Since The Franchise is a comedy series, it led Decider to wonder how close Kroll, Magnussen and the rest of the show’s cast kept to the scripts that showrunner Jon Brown sent them. According to The Franchise star Billy Magnussen, own Kroll’s arrival on set loosened production up.

“It was really tightly written. I think Jon and his team like really wrote a tight, tight script,” Magnussen said. “I operate in a sense of like, I got to be a little free. Just to feel comfortable, to make my mistakes.”

“When Nick came in, he really helped open the door in a way and I think gave more security to the writers. Understanding like, you can have a little space of play and freedom. So it was a great addition to the cast and I really enjoyed working with Nick. He’s fantastic.”

So, like Kyle, The Gurgler, Nick Kroll enjoys improvising on set. Unlike, The Gurgler, though, Nick is “fantastic” to work with.