The married couple's new supernatural comedy debuts Wednesday on Netflix.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone are one of Hollywood's funniest couples, having shared side-splitting scenes in films like Bridesmaids and Spy, and creatively collaborated on The Boss, Life of the Party, Superintelligence, and many more.
Now, in their new Netflix series, God's Favorite Idiot -- created and written by Falcone -- the pair finally get to portray a couple, albeit an unusual one. They play coworkers, Clark and Amily, who fall for each other while Clark is coping with the ethereal aftermath of a near-death experience.
"It just felt like an easy thing to write, since I've already lived it," Falcone joked with ET's Kevin Frazier about the new series. "Just like, me being lazy."
In all seriousness, the actor and producer said it was "really fun" getting to work closely with his wife of 16 years on the new project.
"It kinda hearkened back to some of those moments of doing Bridesmaids or a scene or two in Tammy," he recalled. "It's really fun to get to enjoy just performing with her, 'cause she’s so funny and so grounded and so great. Oftentimes I’m looking at a screen and saying, 'Oh it's so great, can you try this?' So it's fun to be actually in the scene with her."
The series kicks off when Clark is struck by lightning from a unique-looking cloud, and starts to glow. His coworkers and friends, including Amily, start to believe he's been blessed by divine powers -- fears that are confirmed when an angel tells Clark that he is to be God's messenger and must prevent the apocalypse.
Falcone said of his on-screen romance with McCarthy's character, "I just thought it was kinda nice that this unassuming guy who has this kinda really giant problem in his life, he also has a thing, sort of a star that he's been wishing on."
"She's an insane star, but she’s a star nonetheless for him, and for them to kinda come together to have their own ups and down as they travel this journey together, I thought was interesting," he shared. "Also, he has a mission to accomplish, and there’s no way he's going to do it without [his friends]. She’s sort of become the best part of him, and then his friends help him as well, so I think that’s a kinda cool message to get out there."
And, after more than 20 years of personal and professional collaboration, Falcone certainly knows how to write a pitch-perfect and totally chaotic role for McCarthy to sink her teeth into, and the hilarious actress couldn't help but rave about her character.
"I loved everything about Amily," she shared. "I just loved how unapologetic she is. Just like, this is how I live my life, I'm very happy with it. It's booze and pills and and never saying quite the right thing."
"The fact that Ben wrote all of that, a kind of tidal wave, and you still felt that she came from kindness and good stuff, those are my- to watch as an audience member or to play, those are my favorite characters."
McCarthy also raved that her eccentric hair and costumes for the Netflix show -- which released the first eight episodes of its planned 16-episode run on Wednesday -- were "such a dream."
"I think that’s part of why I love doing these characters," she shared. "For at least a little bit of time, I get to really see the world through a different prism."
The pair will almost certainly continue to collaborate on comedies in the future, however, one of the big projects that McCarthy has coming up is something a little more sinister: playing Ursula in the live-action Disney adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
"It's all under water," McCarthy teased when asked about the project, noting that she fears the powers of Disney when it comes to leaking spoilers.
"I mean, it was just a magical fever dream of an experience getting to see those sets, working with Rob Marshall," she marveled. "I have seen The Little Mermaid probably 700 times. During a portion of my 20s when I was a nanny, that's what we would watch almost every single night for like, two and a half years. So to play my favorite, favorite villain of all times was- I’m still pinching myself."
God's Favorite Idiot is streaming now on Netflix.
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