British comedian and universally agreed-upon good guy Ricky Gervais has decided to lend his silky, dulcet tones to the upcoming ABC fantasy musical series Galavant. The show—set in a medieval kingdom full of magic, monsters, wizards, and definitely nothing resembling any other show on ABC—tells the story of a hero, played by Joshua Sasse, who vows to get revenge against the king who stole his true love from him. Gervais will play a character named Xanax, who is described as a wizard “well-known for having the best potions in all the land.” ABC also describes the show as a comedy, in case “Ricky Gervais, the medieval wizard named Xanax” left it unclear what kind of tone they were going for.
Stepping into a role that will require singing and dancing isn’t actually all that unexpected for the comedian. Many people who only know Gervais from his more recent projects may not be aware that the man who was David Brent actually got his start in a glam-pop band in the early ’80s, as the lead singer for a group called Seona Dancing. If nothing else, the band’s video offers demonstrable evidence that it was, indeed, the 1980s:
Galavant will debut on ABC in early 2015. Here’s hoping it makes better use of Gervais’ talents than his most recent series.