Judd Apatow to Direct New COVID Comedy for Netflix

Judd Apatow to Direct New COVID Comedy for Netflix

Judd Apatow will be directing and producing an as of yet untitled comedy for Netflix, which he co-wrote with Pam Brady.

The plot centers around a group of actors trying to finish filming a movie while quarantining in pandemic. The timely film hasn’t acquired any actors yet, though it is said that Netflix has fast tracked the project with plans to begin casting within weeks, as industry insiders say an all-star ensemble is possible like that of recent hits Knives Out and The Disaster Artist.

Apatow’s longtime creative collaborator Barry Mendel is set to executive produce.

The film will also mark Apatow’s first directing project not attached to Universal Pictures, the studio he’s been with since his breakout feature The 40 Year Old Virgin. Since then Apatow has directed Knocked Up, Funny People, This is 40, Trainwreck, May It Last: A Portrait Of The Avett Brothers, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, and The King of Staten Island while writing most of the scripts for those projects. Apatow has an even longer list of producer credits including such films as The Cable Guy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Stepbrothers, Talladega Knights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Superbad, Get Him to the Greek, Pineapple Express, and Bridesmaids.

His most recent project with Universal was The King of Staten Island, one of the first big live-action movies to debut on streaming as a result of the pandemic. Given the critical acclaim for the movie, Universal is now conducting an awards campaign for it.

Apatow’s move to Netflix may have had something to do with how the streaming giant is better equipped to produce and screen new pictures in the pandemic era. He already had a positive relationship with Netflix after they worked together on the series Love, which he executive produced and co-created, making a new Netflix partnership a sensible choice.

Apatow and Brady are represented by UTA, Mosaic and Ziffren Britte.

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