Who Plays Johnny Rev On Platonic?
Viewers of the Season 1 finale of the Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen starring AppleTV+ series "Platonic" were treated to a surprise appearance from Johnny 66 restaurant mogul Johnny Rev, who wants to take over the Lucky Penny restaurant and turn it into a chain. It's a classic soul vs commerce dramatic conflict, and to play the "Johnny" behind Johnny 66, the producers of "Platonic" found an actor who has plenty of experience playing smarmy antagonists of one stripe or another. It's Ted McGinley of "Married...with Children" and "Revenge of the Nerds" fame in the role, coming off some acclaimed work on another AppleTV+ series, "Shrinking."
Johnny Rev is only the latest in a long line of McGinley's creeps and scoundrels, although he's played plenty of more likable parts as well. And television buffs of a certain age also know him for some possibly unwanted notoriety he once had regarding the fates of various television shows that added him to their casts.
Ted McGinley was once known as 'the sitcom killer'
Once upon a time, there was a running joke among television fans that once Ted McGinley popped up on a series, it was doomed. An NBC News story from 2004 cites his reputation as "the Sitcom Killer" thanks to a strange pattern that emerged early in his career, when he replaced Ron Howard as the star of "Happy Days." Then, he joined the crew of "The Love Boat," which also seemed to subsequently sink in the ratings.
It's not known as of this writing whether "Platonic" is going to get a Season 2. However, McGinley has mostly shed his notoriety for coming on a show just as it jumped the shark, so hopefully for fans of "Platonic," a McGinley cameo isn't the creative kiss of death it was once humorously believed to be.
"I have to say, the first time I came across the ['Jump the Shark'] website, it hurt my feelings. I was hurt by it. It's not fun to read those sort of things," McGinley said in 2004. Fortunately, McGinley got some of the best reviews of his career for his performance as Derek on "Shrinking," and now his cameo appearance on the "Platonic" Season 1 finale is getting the good sort of attention online as well.