Benicio Del Toro To Co-Star With Ben Stiller In Apple TV Comedy Series ‘Protective Custody’ Directed By Mike Judge

Wow, we cannot be more excited about this news update. Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro of “Traffic” and “One Battle After Another” fame is set to make his big TV comedy debut in the new Apple TV series “Protective Custody,” where he’ll work alongside co-star Ben Stiller, the two reuniting after “Escape at Dannemora.”

The kicker here as mentioned by Deadline in their reporting is the trio of showrunners working on the series, as Mike Judge (“Office Space,” “Idiocracy”), a well-respected TV guru behind shows such as “Beavis & Butt-head,” “King of the Hill,” and “Silicon Valley,” is teaming up with other comedy veterans such as Steve Hely (“Veep”) and Dave King (“Parks & Rec”). Judge is co-writing and executive producing the show with the other two creatives; he’s also set to direct episodes of “Projective Custody.”

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A brief logline for the new streaming series revealed in the announcement sounds like potential comedy gold in the making:

“Follows a disgraced financier accused of massive fraud who is thrown into protective custody, where he must navigate prison politics, salvage his reputation, and confront the consequences of his actions while awaiting trial.“

Apple Studios, Red Hour, Propagate Content, and 3 Arts Entertainment lead a producing team with exec producers including Stiller, John Lesher, Ben Silverman, Howard Owens, Rodney Ferrell, Michael Rotenberg, and Nanette Burstein.

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Del Toro’s roles in the past have highlighted his comedy chops and sly sense of humor, so being paired up with Stiller feels like a great call. Considering that Apple and Judge have been able to recruit high-profile talent to lead “Protective Custody,” we wouldn’t be all that surprised if they’re able to enlist other well-known names to the call sheet; we’ll just have to be patient on that front.