photo by: Contributed

An idea for a class project at the University of Kansas has become a sketch comedy series with thousands of views across social media. Wayward Sons — made of a core of (from right to left) Joe Biundo, Max Biundo, Drew Hanson, Nnamdi Anyanike — aims to showcase the best of Lawrence.

It is rare that the jokes and the dreams tossed around between college roommates become reality — especially when those dreams involve an appearance on the big screen.

But if you think it is impossible, University of Kansas students Drew Hanson and Nnamdi Anyanike are proving the joke’s on you.

The duo has turned a few comical observations about Lawrence and college life into a short film series — Wayward Sons — that has garnered more than 100,000 views on social media platforms, and recently received a showing on the big screen of downtown Lawrence’s Liberty Hall.

“We didn’t really expect it to happen,” Hanson said. “(It) wasn’t something we ever thought would be on a big screen.”

The episodes — if such productions were rated, these would have an R-rating for language and also should have a warning for those with thin skin — feature a variety of comedy sketches based in current college culture. They include mistaken identities on the college party scene, mishaps from taking too many fitness supplements, and a commercial for a firm that will help you become an archetype ranging from an “indie sleaze bag” to a “knock-off Morgan Wallen.”

While the filmmakers definitely are hoping to use the series to launch a commercial success, they also think the short films have a chance to provide an enduring glimpse — albeit with a dose of absurdity– of college life and student attitudes.

“I like thinking about the concept of KU students in 20 years stumbling on this like a time capsule and knowing what it was exactly to be in college in this year,” Hanson said.

The first episode was released to Youtube in December, and clips have been posted to TikTok and Instagram. Since its release, that episode and clips have reached over 100,000 views combined, Hanson said.

The KU seniors have known each other since their freshman year, but began living together as juniors. In that time, Hanson tagged along on some of Anyanike’s freelance videography work, created a “goofy Instagram account” about their house and worked together on a sketch comedy show spoofing sports media, which “planted the creative seed” that would soon sprout into the Wayward Sons project.

The final push was a class project.

Anyanike, a Kansas City, Mo. journalism major, had a class that required a final project of a video, and Hanson said it was a natural choice to turn to sketch comedy. They didn’t have to look far for their inspiration. They just had to open their door.

“It made sense to focus Lawrence and KU in the center of that thing,” said Hanson, who is from Salina and is majoring in English and philosophy.

Hanson said the series has a wealth of inspirations, like famous movies that the episodes share titles and themes with, but one of the most direct ones was the show Portlandia. The fact the sketches in that show, which starred SNL alum Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, centers on one city fit in with the aim of the series, Hanson said.

Anyanike said one of the key goals of the show was to show off the best parts of Lawrence. For example, the opening scene of the series features the pair walking up the Campanile with David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in the background. Anyanike said they also wanted to showcase other places that would be iconic to the KU community, including popular bars like Bullwinkle’s and Logie’s.

photo by: Contributed/Still from Wayward Sons

Drew Hanson (left) and Nnamdi Anyanike standing in front of the KU Campanile in a sketch during the first episode of their series Wayward Sons.

Since Anyanike and Hanson are from the area, Hanson said making Lawrence and KU a key character was important for them in following the adage of “writing what (they) know.” Hanson said although they plan to eventually move away, creating something that illustrated their time on campus could serve as a slice of life that people with a connection to the area can immediately connect to.

But the duo’s goals for the project are no longer just local.

“There’s a lot of Lawrence specific stuff in there, but we wanted it to relate across other college campuses,” Anyanike said.

Whether the film series is set to introduce Lawrence and its college scene to millions of viewers across the country is uncertain. The show, after all, still has most of the hallmarks of a college class project — long-nights editing, not much time, and a zero dollar budget. But just because that’s been the reality, it doesn’t mean they have let those limitations impact their vision or ambitions.

Anyanike said there are many viewers who have no idea that the Wayward Sons team is working on a shoestring budget and is full of members who are brand new to being in front of a camera. Anyanike said it’s all about focusing on quality writing and sticking true with the vision and execution of the sketches. The reviews, he said, have been positive.

“I’ve been really proud of the product,” Anyanike said. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback saying it’s not just a building block, but it is good how it is right now and there’s an obvious growth.”

The feedback has been strong enough that an opportunity emerged to do a screening at Liberty Hall earlier this month. Anyanike said they were joined at the screening with friends, family and people who were involved with creating the episode. Because of the environment, Anyanike said it was almost like a “test audience” where they could see immediately what parts resonated and led to laughs.

They’ll take that feedback and incorporate it into future projects. Although the exact future of the Wayward Sons — a reference to the famous song by the rock band Kansas — the future of the production is not clear. Anyanike and Hanson plan to move to New York to work in the creative field once they graduate. Although they hope they can produce one more episode based in Lawrence over the summer, they plan to continue working together once they move to the Big Apple.

Who knows, maybe a crazy Lawrence scene ends up being a bit in a future Saturday Night Live skit. Working on SNL is the duo’s latest dream.

The prospects for that dream becoming reality are unclear, but the duo is confident of one thing: The Wayward Sons project planted a creative seed that will continue to grow.

“It’s a thing that is going to stay there,” Hanson said.

photo by: Contributed/Graphic by Chad Cushing

KU students created a sketch comedy show Wayward Sons after a journalism class project. Pictured from left to right, Noah Jensen, Nnamdi Anyanike, Jonathan McGeeney, Drew Hanson and Joey Gonzalez