How “The Naked Gun” Writers Dan Gregor & Doug Mand Got Liam Neeson & Pamela Anderson to Embrace Absurdity

Macho cop teams with gorgeous mystery woman to stop evil tech mogul from destroying the world: The plot’s perfectly functional for an action-thriller, but it’s the jokes, not the story, that have pushed The Naked Gun to the biggest action comedy opening of 2025. Writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), working with director/co-writer Akiva Schaffer, furnished stars Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson with a firehose of silliness encompassing sight gags,

“The Naked Gun” Writer/Director Akiva Schaffer’s Dead Serious Mission to Resurrect the Spoof Comedy

The Naked Gun director Akiva Schaffer is on a quest to bring people back to the movie theaters to laugh—hysterically, if he’s done his job right—and, while he’s at it, to bring the filmmaking process back to Los Angeles as much as possible.

His franchise revival stars Liam Neeson as Detective Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic Police Squad cop, tasked with solving a murder and saving his department from shutting down.

“The Naked Gun”: A Refresher Course in the History of Frank Drebin’s Charmed Stupidity

On August 1st, Lt. Frank Drebin’s uniquely oblivious approach to detective work returns, with The Naked Gun reboot starring Liam Neeson as Drebin’s son, Frank Jr., and Pamela Anderson as Beth, his client and love interest. Following in the goofy footsteps of his father, played in the first three films by Leslie Nielsen, it looks like the biggest difference between the Drebin generations will be Neeson’s husky voice. But the mix-ups,

“The Naked Gun” Legacy: How a Canceled TV Show Spawned Cinematic Comedic Gold

As we eagerly await the theatrical release of the next installment in The Naked Gun franchise on August 1st, this time with Liam Neeson stepping into the role of Frank Drebin Jr., it’s the perfect moment to reflect on the legacy of the original film. An iconic example of slapstick comedy, The Naked Gun not only sparked a successful trilogy but also redefined the parody genre, impacting multiple generations of viewers and leaving an indelible mark on comedy for decades following its release.

“The Naked Gun” Trailer: Liam Neeson & Pamela Anderson Team-Up to Reboot a Comedy Classic

The late, great Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin was one of the great cinematic fools of late 80s cinema. The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad! premiered on December 2, 1988, and Nielsen’s deadpan delivery on absolutely lunatic lines, along with the film’s visual wit and fearlessly silly skits, made it an instant classic, spawning two successful sequels and cementing Nielsen’s status as a comedy god. The original franchise was written by Jerry Zucker,