Times were probably a lot easier for Peter Farrelly back in the late-‘90s. One half of the directing duo known as The Farrelly Brothers, Peter released a string of hit comedies that cemented his status as one of the best comedy directors on the planet. However, over the last year, he’s been known for different reasons, both good and bad.
First, there was the resurfacing of stories that allude to some sexual misconduct situations involving actors on the set of his films. And then to top it off, there was the high and low of winning the Oscar for Best Picture for “Green Book,” a film that will go down as one of the most debated in the history of winners. But nevertheless, Farrelly continues on and his next project seems to put the filmmaker potentially back into controversy.
Variety is reporting that Farrelly is working on a new project for upstart streaming service Quibi, titled “The Now.” Perhaps best described as a suicide comedy series, “The Now” follows the story of a man that finds out his brother committed suicide. This comes after news that his father committed suicide as well. The title of the series stems from the idea that this man has to live “in the now” instead of focusing on other things. Farrelly is developing the series and will write it alongside Pete Jones and Steve Leff.
Needless to say from the concept, as well as the idea that this might be some sort of comedy, there are a lot of ways “The Now” could succeed…or go tumbling off the side of a cliff. One of the most interesting aspects about the series is the fact that it will debut on Quibi, which is a streaming service that is marketed strictly to mobile consumption, with series and films broken up into 10-minute chunks that will be easily digested on a phone or tablet. So, if Farrelly wants his show to work, he’s going to have to create a suicide comedy that can survive 10-minute bursts of entertainment.
Quibi is expected to launch in spring 2020, so we don’t have an official release date for “The Now,” as of, uh, now.