Copyright Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: Tim Heidecker, the alt comic of Tim & Eric fame, and Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany (The Monkey) have signed on to star in The Comedy Hour, a late-night-themed dystopian satire from Scythia Films (The Apprentice) and Halee Bernard & Julian Higgins (God’s Country). Marking the feature directorial debut of Colby Day, the scribe behind forthcoming Searchlight pic In the Blink of an Eye, the black comedy is set five minutes into the future when modern America is on the brink of collapse. Heidecker will play Jimmy, a late-night talk show host forced to produce his show through famine, fire, and plague. When the network assigns him a robot to be his co-host and help boost ratings, everyone in America loves the robot more than him. Maslany will play Priya, a corporate climber and Jimmy’s long-time producer. Scythia Films’ President Daniel Bekerman is producing the film, along with Bernard and Higgins. “After working on Colby’s In The Blink of an Eye I was eager to find another project to do with him,” said Bekerman. “I’m a maniacal fan of Tim’s. The topical relevance is coincidental but welcome!” UTA Independent Film Group is handling worldwide sales for the project. Formerly a New York–based playwright, The Comedy Hour helmer Day made a splash upon entry to Hollywood in 2016, when his screenplay In the Blink of an Eye placed highly on that year’s Black List. The script has since been acquired and produced by Searchlight Pictures, with Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton directing a cast that included Kate McKinnon, Rashida Jones, and Daveed Diggs. Day also penned the script for last year’s Spaceman, directed by Johan Renck and starring Adam Sandler. Currently serving as a story editor on the upcoming season of Apple TV’s For All Mankind, Day began his career interning at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Heidecker is a comedy actor, writer, and musician best known for his work with Eric Wareheim, with whom he created the cult hit Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, which aired for five seasons on Adult Swim. The duo also spun off Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, starring John C. Reilly, which ran for four seasons. In 2012, Heidecker and Wareheim co-wrote, directed, and starred in their first feature, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Alongside Wareheim and Dave Kneebone, Heidecker co-runs Abso Lutely Productions — the company behind Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories, W/ Bob & David, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Nathan for You, The Eric Andre Show, and more. In addition to his film and television work, he hosts the live podcast Office Hours and continues to release music as a singer-songwriter. Best known for her Emmy-winning lead role in the series Orphan Black, Maslany more recently toplined She-Hulk for Disney+. Select film credits include Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey and upcoming Keeper — both for Neon — as well as Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer and David Gordon Green’s Stronger. Soon to be seen on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Maslany is currently shooting Apple’s new series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, written and showrun by David Rosen. Heidecker and Maslany are represented by UTA. Day is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and Yorn Levine. Bekerman is repped by WME and Goldenberg Nahmias. Higgins is with Paradigm, Good Fear Content, and Gang, Tyre, Ramer.
