If You're a Fan of the Sonic Guys, We've Got Some Bad News
Published Nov. 30 2020, 1:26 p.m. ET
There's one true adage to existence on this weird planet: adapt or die. While you've got certain movers and shakers in specific industries who try like heck in some instances to stop the progress of other prospective countries and industries, you can only halt progress so much. Sometimes, this desire to ardently "move in a new direction" can backfire, which is what a lot of people who were left wondering what happened to the Sonic Guys think went down with the duo.
What happened to "The Sonic Guys," and were they replaced?
If you're thinking that the fast food chain is going to place another two best buddies in a vehicle to banter over different menu items during various drive-thru visits, then don't worry: comedians Peter Grosz and T.J. Jagodowski are not going to have someone else sitting in the whip in their stead. That's because Sonic is moving away from the comedy tag team. Again.
Since 2004, "The Sonic Guys," played by Chicago-based comedians Peter and T.J., dipped into their improv backgrounds in order to extol all of the wonderfully delicious food offered at Sonic locations all across the country, while ragging on one another in the process.
The two certainly possess certain "everyman" qualities, and the imagery of two friends shooting the breeze in a non-flashy commuter vehicle while eating fast food is instantly relatable.
The ad campaign lasted for a solid six years or so initially, and then Sonic decided to pull the plug on the pals who weren't ready to depart with their Sonic routine. So they decided to upload their own videos to YouTube that were all Sonic themed and they had such a tremendous response online that the fast food chain decided to bring them back again in 2012.
In 2020, however, Sonic decided to end its commercials featuring T.J. and Peter, and elected to pivot to documenting the real-life experiences of four different families and their trips to their different locations. Like the comedians, these interactions will be more or less spontaneous and unscripted, but I'll wager they'll gravitate more toward heartwarming than hilarious.
T.J. Jagodowski and Peter Grosz have plenty of projects to keep them busy outside of their commercial work.
The two comics have stellar histories as professional funny men outside of the fast food advertisements, however. Peter's got a writing gig for At Home with Amy Sedaris and T.J. is voicing the basketball coach and saloon bartender in the Audible original comedy series Escape from Virtual Island - so it's not like they're in want of work.
No, the Sonic commercial guys are not dead.
Despite there being rumors that one or both of the actors had passed away, which is the "reason" as to why they aren't featured on Sonic's advertisements any longer, no, the comics are not dead.
Fans of Peter and T.J. are so incensed that they've been removed from Sonic's advertising strategy that petitions have been started in order for them to come back on the air to promote the deep-fried wares of "America's drive-in." Compared to some other entertainment-themed petitions in recent history, however, these haven't received many online supporters.
Will you miss T.J. and Peter on the Sonic commercials? Or do you think that they've had a good run? Personally, I'm gonna miss the rascals.
