'The Healing Powers of Dude': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and everything about Netflix's new comedy series
While the name sounds like Jeff Bridges from ‘The Big Lebowski’ gained magical powers (how awesome would that be though?), Netflix’s upcoming comedy ‘The Healing Powers of Dude’ is far from it in every possible way. Created by Erica Spates and Sam Littenberg-Weisberg, the show follows a young boy with social anxiety disorder. But the “Dude” here is not who you think he is.
Release date:
‘The Healing Powers of Dude’ is set premiere on Netflix January 13, 2020.
Plot:
According to Netflix’s official description, in this family comedy series, 11-year-old Noah Ferris struggles with a social anxiety disorder that makes the simplest everyday activities feel like he's drowning in quicksand.
“But after years of homeschooling, Noah bravely decides that he wants to give middle-school a chance and perhaps even make some friends he’s not related to. To help him navigate his new environment, his parents get Noah a scruffy, high-energy emotional support dog called Dude,” says Netflix.
Coming to the titular hero, while Dude is “a novice with a short attention span and a distracting obsession with treats, what he lacks in experience, he makes up for in charm, spunk and wanting the best for Noah. If this unlikely pair can find a way to overcome their differences and work together, they may just survive everything from wisecracking pre-teens to a cat-obsessed school principal and make it through the school year.”
Cast:
Jace Chapman as Noah Ferris
The American child actor, according to his IMDb profile, has worked in the first season of the comedy series ‘Schooled’.
Tom Everett Scott as Noah’s father
The 49-year-old American actor is known for his roles in films like ‘That Thing You Do!’, ‘An American Werewolf in Paris’, ‘Boiler Room’, ‘One True Thing’, ‘Dead Man on Campus’, ‘The Love Letter’, ‘Because I Said So’, ‘Danger One’, and ‘La La Land’.
Larisa Oleynik as Noah’s mother
The 38-year-old American actor rose to fame in the 90s with the Nickelodeon sci-fi series ‘The Secret World of Alex Mack’, where she played the titular role. While she has played several supporting roles in many films, she is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Cynthia Cosgrove on the AMC’s ‘Mad Men’.
Steve Zahn as the voice of Dude
Zahn is by far the most famous name in the cast of the show. The 52-year-old actor’s works include ‘Reality Bites’, ‘Shattered Glass’, ‘Sahara’, ‘Rescue Dawn’, ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, and ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’.
Trailer:
The trailer for ‘The Healing Powers of Dude’ dropped on Wednesday and it looks as wholesome as can be. It opens with Noah introducing himself to his class and informing them about his social anxiety disorder. Noah has an active imagination, which coupled with his disorder makes things tricky.
On the school bus, on his first day of school, he sees his fellow students transform into monsters. He says, “We can do this,” trying to will himself to move past his fears. And at that point, we hear from the eponymous Dude, who says, “Probably not”.
It is unclear from the trailer if Dude’s words reach the humans or if it is just a tired inner monologue (the latter seems more likely), what is clear is that Dude is Noah’s only support system, despite seemingly lovely parents. But not for long. In the course of the trailer, we see a thoroughly nervous Noah managing to make friends, even if they are oddballs as well.
From there it is Noah, his friends, Dude, his active imagination and the many misadventures they get into. In an increasingly bleak 2020 (and the year has only just begun), ‘The Healing Powers of Dude’ looks like a bright ray of sunshine that will make your day a little bit better.
If you like ‘The Healing Powers of Dude’, you will also like:
‘Work in Progress’, ‘Atypical’, ‘Special’, ‘You’re the Worst’, and ‘Please Like Me’.