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Like much of the wider culture in the years since the game's post-pandemic resurgence, Netflix doesn't quite seem to know what to do with golf. Full Swing, the PGA Tour-trailing docuseries with four seasons now under its belt, has had its insightful moments as well as missteps. In 2023, the mega-streamer's first-ever live sports event was a golf/Formula 1 crossover hit-and-giggle that was widely panned as a hard-to-watch mess in Las Vegas. Last summer, Happy Gilmore 2 was a relative triumph: a fun, long-awaited sequel to Adam Sandler's seminal '90s golf comedy.
Next on Netflix's tee: The Hawk, a 10-episode half-hour golf comedy series starring Will Ferrell.
The Hawk centers on the journey of Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins, a washed-up, formerly great golfer looking for a shot at redemption played by Will Ferrell. In other words, it is the stock premise golf movies and TV shows have operated on since Kevin Costner swaggered out of his trailer and into the U.S. Open in Tin Cup. Happy Gilmore 2 and Apple TV's recent Owen Wilson series Stick, same basic idea. The Hawk stands apart because its hero, Will Ferrell's Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins, is far more obnoxious and ultimately far less charming than those who have swung onto screens before him.
Whereas golf TV and film tends to work mainly in the hero's-journey or rom-com mode, The Hawk is an attempt at an all-out, vulgar screwball romp. Lonnie sows mayhem wherever he goes as he attempts to make his way back through the ranks of the professional golf world he once ruled as a three-time major champion and #1 player. The only indication that that wild success gave him any financial freedom: his proud insistence that he owns the ramshackle tour bus he travels in outright. Where did the rest of the millions he earned way-back-when go? The show has no interest in saying, and at any rate Lonnie doesn't seem to mind. He's happy to hoover up Buffalo Wild Wings chicken and drain glasses of white wine as he meanders back towards the big show. This John Daly-esque Everyman bearing could be the foundation for something worthwhile, but Lonnie's out-of-control behavior and seemingly incurable selfishness constantly undercuts the audience's attempts to give him the benefit of the doubt, or to see much humor in his shtick.
The Hawk's list of executive producers includes filmmaker David Gordon Green, who directed the first two episodes. Green also directed a dozen episodes of the exquisitely irreverent HBO series Eastbound & Down, which crowned actor Danny McBride as an iconic 21st-century comic character actor via his portrayal of washed-up baseball player Kenny Powers. The Hawk clearly sees Lonnie as its Kenny, but it falls well short of delivering another all-time-great character. Lonnie Hawkins' reckless decisions and poor behavior end up having too much of a shallow slapstick feel, whereas Kenny Powers ascended to a plane of delusional swagger, vulgarity and complete self-absoprtion unto itself that turned him into a hilarious wrecking ball. Lonnie's act is too often just plain obnoxious.
There are glimpses of a good story here, though. Lonnie scoops up a fill-in caddie and messy kindred spirit in Samantha, played with goofy, golf-naïve charm by comedian Fortune Feimster. Some of the show's better early moments are in their road-trip-comedy odd-couple rapport. Theirs is a platonic relationship; Hawkins is still on fire for his estranged wife, Stacy, played by fellow Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon. Stacy cavorts with her companion Radford (David Hornsby) and hawks her own brand of pre-made cocktails to PGA Tour golfers and hangers-on (some occasional fun cameos), including tour board member Anton Floyd (former SNLer Chris Parnell). Luke Wilson plays Lonnie's nemesis and slick fellow Tour veteran Golden Fisk, who easily steals every scene he's in with a sleazy southern drawl, movie-star smirk and a wardrobe of cardigans straight out of the '60s, festooned with Mike's Hard Lemonade sponsor patches.
Another rival: Lonnie and Stacy's son, Lance (Jimmy Tatro), who is rising through the PGA Tour ranks himself and has his own heavy hangups, plus a wellness-influencer fiancée Natalie (Katelyn Tarver) who vies with Stacy to dote on and manipulate him. Father-son rivalry and further family drama naturally ensue.
At a time when golf is starting to be taken seriously by more people than ever, The Hawk's wacky treatment of the game seems outdated, geared towards a general audience of casuals who have probably recently become avid. The show has nothing interesting to say about golf, even in satirical terms; it is merely a vehicle for delivering the latest expression of Ferrell's brand of over-the-top silliness. Having fond memories of his great SNL sketches, I came away from The Hawk wishing that Ferrell had brought more focus and a little less chaos.
Netflix
10 episodes; first seven screened for review
Premiere: July 16, 2026 (all episodes)
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