Legendary thief Willie Sutton famously explained he robbed banks because that’s where the money is.
But who has even more money than the average bank? Mick Jagger! That’s the giddy reasoning of Eugene Gurkin, a janitor who dreams of opening a saloon. Why not gather a crew to burglarize Jagger’s $52 million Manhattan apartment! “Certainly he won’t miss a few crumbs from his table of much plentifulness,” Eugene ventures.
Thus is born the Knights of Prosperity, six lovable losers who, joining forces on the ABC sitcom of the same name, share newfound sticky fingers and a common lament: They can’t get no satisfaction.
But, then, who can – besides a Rolling Stone? Donal Logue, who stars as Eugene, says that “except for the .08 percent who feel like ‘we are the powers-that-be,’ everyone is aware of a wonderful, glorified world that isn’t their world. And they feel like it’s beyond their reach.
“But why not dream?” So “The Knights of Prosperity” (premiering Wednesday at 8 p.m. on KMGH-Channel 7) is a comedy about dreams and dreamers.
“What viewers relate to in a character isn’t the sexy, good-looking, smart dude who always knows what to say,” says Logue. “What an audience connects with is ‘I’m insecure, I’m scared, I’m worried that my life will amount to very little.”‘
Led by Eugene, the Knights of Prosperity believe something better lies ahead … despite comic evidence to the contrary.
Now Logue, costumed in black with a ski mask at the ready, is about to join his similarly clad co-stars as they film a scene for a future episode at Queens’ Silvercup Studios.
The Knights have reached the anteroom of Jagger’s 18th-floor digs, equipped with more security than the Pentagon. They have managed to filch the security code with which they can disarm Mick’s front door. But never fear – each step forward only leads to the next pratfall.
“If we weren’t bumbling idiots, the job would be done already,” says Maz Jobrani, who plays Gourishankar “Gary” Subramaniam, a cab driver who back home in India was a prosperous lawyer.
“It’s really outlandish,” laughs Kevin Michael Richardson, who brings his girth and velvety, Barry White-like voice to his role as warehouse security guard Rockefeller Butts. “But they’re so determined going after their prize, I think a lot of people will be rooting for them.”
This is a gang that has trouble even synchronizing their watches. But their zany, endearing doggedness is what the show is about. And though Jagger himself makes a very funny appearance in the premiere, “The Knights of Prosperity” won’t be mistaken for “The Mick Jagger Show.”
“We initially wanted to pitch a comedy about a bunch of blue-collar guys who decide to change their lives by robbing a bank,” says Jon Beckerman, who created “Knights” with fellow “Ed” alum Rob Burnett. “But the day after we came up with that, we saw NBC was premiering a drama about a gang of robbers holding up a jewelry store. We felt we needed a different twist.”
