Tim Robinson, the comedian behind sketch series I Think You Should Leave, along with Paul Rudd and Kate Mara are starring in Friendship, an indie comedy that is marking the feature directorial debut of Andrew DeYoung, the helmer known for his work on such series as Our Flag Means Death and Pen15.
J. D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producing duo behind horror hit Barbarian, are producing the comedy, which is now in production, with Fifth Season, the financier-distribution-production outfit behind recent movies Flora and Son and 80 for Brady. Fifth Season, formerly named Endeavor Content, is also financing.
Written by DeYoung, Friendship centers on a mild-mannered man named Craig, whose life is perfectly balanced, with Subway sandwiches and Marvel movies, a job he enjoys and a happy homelife with a wife and son. That life is upended with the arrival into the neighborhood by a weatherman, played by Rudd. Mysterious yet friendly, macho but vulnerable, the weatherman transforms everything for Craig, but Craig’s obsessive and childlike nature threatens to ruin the friendship and possibly everything else in his life.
Tracy Rosenblum is acting as executive producer.
DeYoung made a name for himself in television, where he recently earned an Emmy for writing Would It Kill You to Laugh, the Peacock comedy special starring John Early and Kate Berlant, which he also directed and executive produced. And on top of directing episodes of Max’s Our Flag Means Death and Hulu’s four-Emmy-nominated PEN15, his credits include episodes of Hulu’s Shrill, FX’s Dave and Netflix’s upcoming The Decameron, among others.
Robinson is a former writer and player on Saturday Night Live who broke out with his Netflix sketch comedy series I Think You Should Leave, whose third season hit last year. The series won two Emmys last month, for shortform comedy or drama series and outstanding actor in a shortform comedy or drama series. Robinson also won in the second category at the 2022 Emmys.
Rudd, last seen in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, next stars in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which Sony opens March 22.
