Most Underrated Comedy Sequel Is Better Than Its First Entry

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy came out in 2004 when I was a high school sophomore, and its quotability replaced Dave Chappelle’s Rick James and Lil Jon skits nearly overnight. Suddenly, everybody I knew was “trapped in a glass case of emotion,” “not mad, but actually impressed,” and they all “loved lamp.” We all had the time of our lives rattling off lines from the movie while doing our best Ron Burgundy impressions. 60 percent of the time, we laughed every time.

2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues didn’t have the same impact from my vantage point because my friends and I had grown up. Between getting married, having kids, and moving out of state, we weren’t exactly gathering around to quote movies ad nauseam upon its release. Anchorman felt like an adolescent rite of passage, while Anchorman 2 felt like an afterthought, which is a shame because I think it’s actually a better movie.

Critics seem to agree too, given that the first film has a 66 percent score against the sequel’s 74 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Infinitely more prescient than its predecessor, Anchorman 2 is more timeless with the topics it tackles but carries the same sense of humor that made the first film a commercial success.

The Legend Continues

Anchorman 2 picks up four years after the events of the first film, reintroducing us to an older and somehow dumber Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell). Co-anchoring the news with his wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), Ron quickly gets a dose of reality when she’s promoted by a retiring Mack Tannen (Harrison Ford), and he’s fired for gross incompetence. When Ron is approached by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker) to join his new network, Global News Network (GNN), he decides to get the band back together.

Freddie’s vision is simple: 24/7 news coverage. The problem is that filling the airwaves with nonstop programming proves to be a daunting task when journalistic integrity is supposed to be the standard. Fortunately for Freddie, Ron has no qualms about bending the truth, spinning sensational and speculative stories, and cranking out fluff pieces at an alarming rate to keep audiences tuned in.

With the help of field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), and dimwitted weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), the original crew dominates the ratings, quickly becoming the GNN dream team. Their success, of course, frustrates Veronica, who still believes in the discipline and dignity of real journalism.

The Truth Has Consequences

Embodying the same improvisational energy as the first film, Anchorman 2’s humor is in top form as its cast fires off one-liners at an impossible pace. Beneath the jokes and absurdity, though, lies a biting critique of the 24-hour news cycle we all live with today. When commercialism undermines the one legitimate story Ron and his team want to broadcast, the film forces us to face the uncomfortable truth that news has turned into entertainment disguised as information. Corporate greed dictates the headlines, and the stories that make money matter more than the stories that actually matter most.

As heavy as that sounds, Anchorman 2 never loses sight of what made the first film work so well, leaning fully into its absurd humor while effortlessly escalating every ridiculous situation. Enemies become friends, friends become enemies, and Ron starts dating his Black manager, Linda Jackson (Meagan Good), only to destroy his reputation with her family after trying to aggressively talk jive at the dinner table. The third act delivers another over-the-top rival network battle royale, and even Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn) returns to defend his mother’s honor. Dorothy Mantooth is still a saint, after all.

Instead of relying on lazy callbacks, nothing here feels phoned in. Familiar bits are revisited but handled as long-running gags rather than cheap references. The jokes feel earned, the chemistry is still sharp, and the characters get to stretch into new, equally absurd territory that makes the sequel feel like a natural extension of what came before.

A Strong, Memorable Sequel You May Have Overlooked 

If you’re like me and only gave Anchorman 2 a casual watch when it first came out, it’s worth revisiting. It captures everything that made the original a cultural phenomenon but elevates the humor by telling a more cohesive story that’s not just about newsroom chaos and ego-driven rivalries. It does exactly what a great sequel should: it takes established characters, puts them in a new world with higher stakes, and lets them fail spectacularly in the funniest ways possible.

Anchorman 2 leans into the madness of its time and somehow feels even more relevant now thanks to its biting satire. It’s not only holds up, but actually outshines the original.

Anchorman 2 is streaming on Paramount+.