Watch The Spoils of Babylon

The Spoils of Babylon is a satirical comedy miniseries that first aired on IFC in 2014. The show is a hilarious spoof of epic miniseries like "The Thorn Birds" and "Dynasty," complete with all the melodrama and over-the-top acting you'd expect from such shows. The Spoils of Babylon takes place over several decades, beginning in the early 1900s and ending in the 1970s, and follows the lives of the fictional Morehouse family.

The series stars Tobey Maguire as the adopted son of the Morehouse family, Devon Morehouse. The show also features a star-studded cast, including Kristen Wiig, Jessica Alba, Tim Robbins, and Val Kilmer, all of whom play various members of the Morehouse family and their inner circle.

The series follows the ups and downs of the Morehouse family, as they deal with various personal and professional challenges over the years. The family is involved in everything from the rise of the oil industry to World War II to the Civil Rights movement, and their adventures are always on a grand and melodramatic scale.

One of the things that makes The Spoils of Babylon so entertaining is its very deliberate over-the-topness. The show is intentionally ridiculous, with everything from the costumes to the acting being as hyperbolic as possible. Characters frequently burst into dramatic soliloquies, and the dialogue is full of purple prose and absurdly florid language.

At the same time, the show is also very self-aware, and there are many moments of absurd humor and surrealism. For example, the series features a running gag in which a CGI eagle randomly flies across the screen, and there's even an entire episode where the characters are turned into puppets.

The series also pokes fun at the tropes and conventions of epic miniseries. There are countless instances of dramatic zooms and over-the-top musical cues, and the show frequently employs techniques like split-screen and slow-motion to heighten the sense of melodrama.

The Spoils of Babylon is not for everyone, but if you're a fan of satirical comedies or epic miniseries, there's a good chance you'll love it. The series is a loving parody of a certain type of television show, and it's clear that the creators had a lot of fun making it.

Overall, The Spoils of Babylon is a hilarious and absurdist take on epic miniseries, with a great cast and plenty of laughs. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, those who enjoy this type of humor will find a lot to love about the show.

The Spoils of Babylon is a series that ran for 2 seasons (14 episodes) between December 16, 2013 and on IFC