Severance director Ben Stiller develops a thriller for Apple TV+, the Barbershop franchise expands to streaming television, and Angelina Jolie signs up for spy film The Initiative
The Off Weeks (Apple TV+)
Ben Stiller (Severance) and Jessica Chastain (George & Tammy) are set to star in a limited series thriller for Apple TV+. The project follows writing professor Gus Adler (Stiller), whose divorce has thrown his life into chaos. He struggles to hold things together during “on weeks” when he has custody of his kids. But in his “off weeks,” he’s falling dangerously in love with Stella West, a mysterious woman whose arrival puts Gus’ on-week duties and off-weeks ambitions on a fatal collision course. The project will continue Stiller’s relationship with the streamer after the success of Severance, and will be produced by global independent Studio wiip. Filming is scheduled to begin in New York City and Jersey City in early January.
Barbershop (Amazon Prime Video)
The popular Barbershop franchise, which centers around the social lives and careers of employees at a barbershop on Chicago’s South Side, is expanding to streaming television. Jermaine Fowler (Superior Donuts, Coming 2 America) will star in a series that follows the continuity of the original films that starred Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer. Marshall Todd, who co-wrote the original film, is writing the series and executive producing. Filming is scheduled to begin in Atlanta and on location in Chicago beginning October 20.
The Initiative (Universal)
Angelina Jolie (Eternals, Maria) is set to star in a new spy thriller from Mr. and Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman and screenwriter F. Scott Frazier (Collide, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage). According to press materials, “a rogue master spy recruits a new agent, plunging him into a world where he can’t tell if she’s protecting him or setting him up, as they take on enemies worse than themselves.” Filming is scheduled to commence in Los Angeles in early February.
