Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain will reunite on screen for the first time since “The Help” in “Deck the Y’alls,” a holiday comedy from the writer of “Girls Trip.” They join a cast that includes Wanda Sykes.
“Deck the Y’alls” follows a New York baker named Rachel Stein (Jessica Chastain), who falls for Beau, a younger Southern gentleman, and heads to Charleston, South Carolina to spend Christmas with his family. But over-protective matriarch Gladys Gibbes (Octavia Spencer) is a celebrity chef who clashes with Rachel. The film will shoot next year. Tracy Oliver (“Girls Trip”) wrote the script with Stefanie Williams.
Both actresses were nominated for Oscars in the best supporting actress category for “The Help,” with Spencer winning the award. Chastain would go on to win an Oscar for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and scored another nomination for “Zero Dark Thirty.” Her credits include “Molly’s Game,” “Interstellar” and the Showtime series “George and Tammy.”
Spencer was nominated for Oscars for her work in “Hidden Figures” and “The Shape of Water.” She also appeared in “Fruitvale Station” and “Ma,” and executive produced and starred in the Netflix biographical limited series “Self Made,” for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
Sykes is a comedian and Emmy-winning actress with credits including “The Chris Rock Show,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” Sykes’ stand up specials include “Tongue Untied,” “Sick & Tired” and “Not Normal.”
Oliver is a screenwriter and producer best known for writing the hit 2017 film “Girls Trip,” which made her the first Black woman to pen a movie that grossed over $100 million at the box office. She then went on to write the comedy series “Harlem,” “The First Wives Club” and is currently working on “Girls Trip 2.”
“Deck the Y’alls” will be produced by Sandbox Studios, as well as Octavia Spencer’s ORIT Entertainment, Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films and Sony Music Vision. The producers are in active discussions with distribution partners.
Sandbox Studios and Jessica Chastain are currently working together on the Netflix mystery thriller “Heartland” starring Chastain, country singer Carter Faith and John Hawkes, which was announced last week.
Spencer, Chastain, Sykes and Oliver are represented by CAA.