Break out the cowboy hat, fire up the Trans Am and tell somebody we’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there, because Smokey and the Bandit just came roaring back into The Rizzuto Show.
Sean and Jason — the men bringing Sheriff Buford T. Justice and Junior Justice back to life — join us in studio to tell one of those stories that starts with people dressing up as beloved movie characters at car shows and somehow ends with cameras rolling on an actual television series.
And yes, Sean enters the studio in full Buford T. Justice mode with a lit cigarette.
Nobody was going to tell the sheriff no.
The guys explain how their Eastbound and Down tribute work eventually led them to Sedalia, Missouri, where they realized the town had exactly the right look for the world they wanted to recreate. Enter Larry Parham, a former police officer who apparently possesses the supernatural ability to make anything happen. Location scouting? Done. Production help? Done. Playing the mayor? Sure, why not. They call him the Wishmaster, which is both an incredible nickname and the exact person every production desperately needs.
Jason also reveals the extremely reasonable fact that he owns six Trans Ams.
Six.
Somewhere, a bald eagle just shed a single tear.
The conversation digs into how Jason initially wondered why grown men were dressing like Smokey and the Bandit characters before realizing how much joy and nostalgia the tribute brought people. Fans remember their old Trans Ams. Law-enforcement officers remember being inspired by Buford. Others simply get transported back to watching the movie with their families. What started as reenacting became something much bigger.
Then Sean drops one of the coolest stories in the entire episode: he spent a week around Burt Reynolds at a film festival in Valdosta, Georgia, shortly before Reynolds died.
Sean remembers hearing Burt tell stories repeatedly throughout the week — except every time he told one, another little detail might appear. Nobody cared that they'd already heard it. It's Burt Reynolds. You sit down and listen.
Naturally, that launches this daily comedy into stories about Burt Reynolds being one of the coolest human beings ever assembled, including the legendary tales where Burt wasn't necessarily the hero. And weirdly, that's part of what makes the stories even better.
Then we get into Sheriff Justice: The Series itself.
The project explores Buford and Junior before the events of Smokey and the Bandit, while working hard to preserve what made Jackie Gleason and Mike Henry's original characters memorable. Sean and Jason talk about respecting those performances rather than turning them into parody, and about receiving support from the families connected to Gleason and Henry.
That's a pretty significant stamp of approval when you're stepping into characters people have loved for nearly 50 years.
The production is also taking the period details seriously.
We're talking vintage cars. Real old-school Detroit steel. Casting calls for vehicles from the era. The evolution toward Buford's iconic Pontiac LeMans. And, naturally, Trans Ams — including Jason's car with Burt Reynolds' autograph on the sun visor.
At this point Moon is approximately three minutes away from asking whether he can legally marry a 1977 Trans Am.
The guys even get deep into obscure Smokey and the Bandit car trivia, including details involving the original LeMans and its paint. This is where casual fans politely nod while the hardcore fans begin screaming at their radios because THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
Sean and Jason also tease Easter eggs that longtime fans should watch for, explain how production has pushed through some absolutely brutal Missouri heat — including a reported 123-degree heat index during a 14-hour filming day — and discuss finishing the pilot before moving deeper into production.
And then Rafe asks the only question that really matters:
When do WE get to be in it?
Because apparently simply interviewing actors isn't enough anymore. Now The Rizzuto Show would like acting credits.
The possibility of coming down to Sedalia as extras quickly becomes the possibility of a speaking role, and suddenly we're discussing SAG cards, Diablo sandwiches and Dr Pepper like this is already a signed contract. Moon, meanwhile, volunteers to “babysit” the Trans Am, which sounds suspiciously like grand theft auto with better manners.
The episode also includes an incredible encounter with Paul Williams, who played Little Enos in the original movie. Sean and Jason describe meeting him at a convention, where Williams saw them dressed as Buford and Junior, lit up and immediately slipped right back into character — like everyone had been transported straight back to the original set.
Then comes one of the greatest “I've made it” moments imaginable.
Sean looks over during production and sees someone dressed exactly like him.
His stunt double.
That's when this whole crazy journey becomes real: you've gone from tribute appearances and car shows to standing on an actual set while another human being dresses like you because what they're about to do is apparently too dangerous for your insurance policy.
This episode is a love letter to Smokey and the Bandit, Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Mike Henry, outrageous cars, practical stunt work and a style of movie comedy that still connects with audiences decades later. It's nostalgia without treating the originals like museum pieces — and the story of a couple of guys whose passion project somehow grew into something much larger.
It's also another daily comedy episode where Rafe's childhood obsession may have accidentally resulted in the entire show getting acting work.
If this works, we're never going to hear the end of it.
So grab a Diablo sandwich and a Dr Pepper, fire up the Trans Am and enjoy some daily comedy with Sean, Jason and The Rizzuto Show.
We'll see you eastbound and down.
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