SPOILERS AHEAD FOR NEAGLEY SEASON 1! STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED!
The name on everybody’s lips this season of Neagley is… Tranqlara! The wonder drug—masterminded by the shady Pierce Woodrow (Matthew Del Negro) and Echo Canyon leader Lawrence Cole (Damon Herriman)—combines psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) “through a meticulously designed medical protocol” to help people overcome their past traumas and live again. Noble cause, right? WRONG. It turns out the impetus for developing the drug is a money grab that will allow shady pharmaceutical head Arvid Rawlings to keep building his empire at the cost of people’s lives.
Over the course of the season, we see Woodrow and Cole sacrifice countless souls and spend millions of dollars in pursuit of finding just the right combination of psilocybin and LSD to deliver enlightenment in fewer than 12 30-minute trips. Woodrow is desperate for Tranqlara to become market-ready and bring in profit. So, what does any good snake-oil salesman do? Make a commercial touting the miracles of Tranqlara to elicit demand from potential consumers.
Every good commercial needs a celebrity spokesman, and the production team for Neagley chose the perfect one to play a fake version of himself. Beloved actor/host Jerry O’Connell appears in Neagley Episode 5, entitled “The Trip,” having been hired by the bad guys to shill this dangerous drug to the public. The episode begins with the fake pharmaceutical commercial as O’Connell sits in a makeup chair getting ready.
“Oh, hi. I’m Jerry O’Connell. You’ve probably seen me in one of your favorite TV shows or movies over the last 30 years,” begins O’Connell as he gets up from his seat and puts on his jacket. He continues: “I’ve grown up before your eyes. Being a husky little kid to a man with a fulfilling career, wonderful friends, and a beautiful family.”
“But that’s not to say I haven’t had my share of ups and downs. We all have,” says O’Connell as he walks on a fake set towards a stage. “For some of us, climbing out of those downs can be difficult, often due to severe trauma and the ramifications that come from it: anxiety, depression, PTSD, and addiction.”
O’Connell arrives on the stage to find a man sitting in darkness, perched on the end of his bed with his head in his hands.
“You might find yourself headed towards or already at rock bottom,” says O’Connell solemnly. “But you don’t have to stay there.”
Suddenly, the lights from behind the set’s fake windows start to glow, and inspirational music begins to play. The man walks to the windows to look outside and take in the sun.
“Come, join us in the light,” says O’Connell, before assuring the audience,”Healing is within reach with Tranqlara. It’s as easy as one ounce of a clear, flavorless liquid added to any beverage three times a week for six consecutive weeks.”
Then, O’Connell and the man—who now has a son—are transported to a beach. O’Connell explains, “Through Tranqlara’s carefully formulated psychedelic psychiatric treatments, what once held you back, made you feel small, powerless…will soon disappear.”
Does Tranqlara seem too good to be true? Well, it is! However, O’Connell is pitch-perfect in the commercial as a celebrity endorsing a drug that they don’t know anything about. Last week, the stars of Neagley—Maria Sten, Greyston Holt, Adeline Rudolph, and Jasper Jones—dropped by the studio to talk about the series and O’Connell’s surprise cameo.
“It was written into the script, and to me, it’s just inspired casting,” said Sten. “I love that episode. It’s so creative.” For his part, Jones thought O’Connell’s appearance “work[ed] beautifully” because O’Connell is inherently trustworthy. Holt was just “stoked” to be part of the same project as O’Connell. “Stand by Me is my favorite movie of all time,” said Holt, though he was bummed he “didn’t get to meet Jerry on set.”
Rudolph, however, did get to interact with O’Connell. “He was very friendly,” reported Rudolph. “He was saying hi to everyone.” Given O’Connell’s lengthy career and Golden Retriever energy, it’s no surprise to learn that he was a delight on set.
Though the development of Tranqlara was responsible for many people’s deaths, that’s not O’Connell’s fault. Hopefully, his sterling reputation remains intact within the world of Neagley after the dangers of Tranqlara are exposed.
All eight episodes of Neagley are streaming now on Prime Video.