Netflix has been slowly evolving into what broadcast networks have stood for — offering a broad spectrum of entertainment for everyone.
After adding procedurals to its portfolio of original offerings, the global streamer also has been taking a page from the broadcast comedy playbook by building series around stand-ups and their lives and material.
Following Shane Gillis’ Tires, Michelle Buteau’s Survival of the Thickest and Leanne Morgan’s upcoming Leanne, Netflix has greenlighted Free Bert, a six-episode scripted comedy series starring, co-created and executive produced by Bert Kreischer, who has done six stand-up specials for the streamer.
Fellow actor-comedian Arden Myrin (The Righteous Gemstones) also stars in the series along with newcomers Ava Ryan — who has a big social media footprint with 3.3M followers — and Lilou Lang. Free Bert is co-created and executive produced by Kreischer as well as Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel (Huge in France, The Grinder), who serve as writers, directors and showrunners.
In Free Bert, Kreischer — shirtless comedian, party legend, perpetual wildcard — finds himself in uncharted territory when his daughters are accepted to an elite Beverly Hills private school. When his unbridled antics turn his family into outcasts, he decides to “put on a shirt” and stifle his true nature to better fit in.
Myrin will play Bert’s wife LeeAnn and the mother of their two daughters who grew up in a trailer park. Ryan will play the couple’s older daughter Georgia, who is the target of cyberbullying.
Also executive producing the series are Kreischer’s wife, LeeAnn Kreischer; Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, and Elise Henderson for Counterpart Studios; as well as Judi Marmel.
Stand-up comedians became the broadcast networks’ top choice for sitcom subjects in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in such hits as The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond.
Kreischer’s sixth Netflix special, Lucky, filmed in his hometown of Tampa, FL, premiered in Netflix’s Top 10 Most Watched TV Shows (English) in March. In addition to his specials, Kreischer served as a tailgate correspondent for Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday and has made several special appearances on WWE Raw. He also starred in the 2023 feature The Machine. Across platforms, Kreischer has amassed 4 billion impressions and 308 million views on YouTube.
MadTV and @midnight alumna Myrin was a main cast member of Netflix’s comedy-drama Insatiable.
Ryan, who became a social media star at an early age through comedy videos posted by her mom, is a series regular voice cast member of the upcoming Adult Swim animated series Keeping Up with The Joneses.
