If you can’t do, teach, right? A washed-up former pro golfer sees the light when he discovers a young talent and turns to coaching in the new streaming sitcom “Stick,” premiering Wednesday, June 4, on Apple TV+. Three episodes drop on premiere day, with new episodes releasing each Wednesday until the July 23 season finale.
Owen Wilson (“Loki”) stars in “Stick” as Pryce Cahill, a gifted golfer who went by the titular nickname in his heyday and whose career as a pro went down the drain following a meltdown during a tournament 20 years before we meet him in the series. Pryce had a long fall from grace after that fateful day on the course. Now, he’s divorced from his ex-wife, Amber- Linn (Judy Greer, “White House Plumbers”), out of a job and on the verge of losing his house.
It’s almost too on-the-nose that Pryce drives around in one of the last vestiges of his past life: a bright yellow Corvette that’s seen better days, to put it lightly. A flashy sports car that’s been treated like a beater.
In the official trailer for the series, Pryce is sitting at a bar after what must have been a long day, only to be confronted by another patron, Mitts (Marc Maron, “The Order,” 2024), who tells the story of his failures for everyone to hear.
Mitts, who could be mistaken for Pryce’s biggest hater after that display, is actually his closest friend and former caddy.
In the middle of a golf lesson with a senior citizen, lightning strikes for Pryce when he hears the sound of a killer drive. Abandoning the lesson to find the source of this incredible swing, Pryce discovers 17-year-old Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager, “Insidious: The Red Door,” 2023), who is quickly chased out of the driving range by an employee of the course.
Inspired by the flighty virtuoso, Pryce tracks down Santi and learns two important things from his mother, Elena (Mariana Trevino, “The House of Flowers”). Firstly, Santi’s remarkable skill comes from being coached by his father throughout his youth. Secondly, Santi no longer plays the sport — also because of his dad.
Pryce sees the obvious potential in Santi and feels like he can help someone reach and surpass the peak that he himself summited before succumbing to the pressure of the sport. With nothing to lose, Pryce pitches himself as the one who can help Santi qualify for the U.S. amateur championship and charms Elena — leading them to all set out in an RV together to make an impression on the course.
Also starring in “Stick” are Lilli Kay (“Yellowstone”) as Zero and Timothy Olyphant (“Havoc,”
2025) as a fellow former pro golfer from Pryce’s past. Real PGA golfers lend some credibility to the series, with guest appearances from Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Max Homa and Wyndham Clark. CBS Sports broadcasters Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman; Matt Scharff, Brad Dalke and Garrett Clark of Good Good Golf; and golf enthusiast Dan Rapaport make cameos in the show.
Jason Keller (“Ford v. Ferrari,” 2019) created “Stick” and also executive produces the sports sitcom.
Jaffar Mahmood (“Young Sheldon”), Jonathan Dayton (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”) and Valerie Faris (“Living With Yourself”) are the series directors.
Apple TV+ is home to one of the biggest heartwarming sports sitcom hits of the decade with “Ted Lasso,” and with the unexpected recent announcement of its fourth season’s renewal (two whole years after Season 3 premiered), “Stick” is here to make the wait feel a bit shorter for AFC Richmond fans.
The stakes of sports stories — either based on true events or entirely fictional — work well as dramatic arcs in TV and film, transcending the world of sports and their fans. Two “Stick” stars have notable roles in sports-centric titles on their resume. Of course, Wilson voiced anthropomorphic racecar Lightning Mc- Queen in the Disney’s animated Cars franchise, spanning three feature films as well as shorts, video games and TV series.
Maron, meanwhile, starred as director Sam Sylvia in the beloved, canceled-too-soon Netflix series, “GLOW.” The show, set in the 1980s, followed the fictional professional wrestlers of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling as they struggled to make it. Maron’s character was a gruff, reluctant joiner — not too dissimilar to his role in “Stick.”
Speaking to Esquire in May, Keller got into developing the character of Pryce and casting the role. “The idea of a character like Pryce had been bouncing around in my head for a long time,” Keller explained, “this sort of beautiful loser, or incredibly talented person that never lived up to his potential.”
About Wilson landing the lead in the series, Keller said, “When I first started talking to him about the show and the character, very quickly I started to understand that the character of Pryce was being taken over by Owen Wilson and inhabited by the guy.”
Pull out your scorecards and tee up to the premiere of the brandnew streaming sitcom, “Stick,” premiering on Wednesday, June 4, on Apple TV+.