Knuckles EP breaks down the inspiration behind that wild “Shabbat Dinner” episode

If you thought you knew what you were getting into with Episode 3 of Knuckles, which is now streaming on Paramount+ – think again. Titled “The Shabbat Dinner,” the show takes a break from villain attacks (mostly) to focus on Knuckles (Idris Elba) coming to have dinner with Wade Whipple’s (Adam Pally) very Jewish family. And it is wild.

“That came from us really wanting to do a version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? with Knuckles,” EP Toby Ascher told The Parent Watch. “We love the idea of Knuckles being a guest in a very awkward dinner party.”

In the episode, we meet Stockard Channing as Wendy Whipple, Wade’s mother, and Edi Patterson as Wanda Whipple, Wade’s competitive sister. And as is immediately apparent, the typical Whipple Friday night dinner usually ends in absolute disaster. And initially, it does, despite Knuckles’ immediate infatuation with the comically insane array of Jewish food on display (the show makes a very specific joke about Wendy having cooked meals from every single Jewish holiday for the dinner).

Ultimately, after villains do attack, the Whipple family and Knuckles bond, and have the best Shabbat ever. But along the way, Wade gets stabbed with a fork, Knuckles plays with gefilte fish, and everything goes off the rails – particularly Channing’s iconic pronunciation of “Knuckles” as “Knuchles.”

“It’s fantastic,” said Ascher. “It was in there from the very beginning and Idris and Stockard both managed to hit the dictation that made that joke work in an amazing way.”

Despite the ridiculous comedy present in the episode, for Ascher, this half-hour came from an honest, personal place. “I'm Jewish,” Ascher said. “I grew up Jewish. There were a lot of things that came from my background in that story and it came from the question of what would happen if Knuckles was the friend that you have to bring home, and how could we push that in the most comedic and fun ways as possible?”

Knuckles is streaming now on Paramount+.