Ben Stiller and Jessica Chastain are attached to lead the limited series “The Off Weeks,” which has been greenlit at Apple TV+.
The logline for the eight-episode series states, “When divorce throws writing professor Gus Adler’s (Stiller) 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 (Chastain), a mysterious woman whose arrival puts Gus’ on-week duties and off-weeks ambitions on a fatal collision course.”
Stiller will executive produce via Red Hour alongside John Lesher. Chastain executive produces alongside Kelly Carmichael for Freckle Films. Alissa Nutting (“Made for Love,” “Teenage Euthansia”) serves as showrunner and executive producer. Michael Showalter, who directs and developed the project with Semi-Formal Productions, executive produces alongside Jordana Mollick. Paul Lee and Gabriel Fisher executive produce for wiip. Peter Principato, Allen Fischer and Brian Steinberg executive produce for Artists First. Dean Bakopoulos also serves as executive producer. wiip will serve as the studio.
The project keeps both Stiller and Chastain in business with Apple TV+. Stiller executive produces and directs the hit series “Severance,” which is currently prepping its third season after the massive critical and popular acclaim of Seasons 1 and 2. He also previously executive produced the Apple series “High Desert.” Chastain will star in the upcoming Apple series “The Savant,” which premieres on Sept. 26 as well as Apple’s “The Dealer” alongside Adam Driver.
Showalter, meanwhile, was an executive producer and director on the Apple miniseries “The Shrink Next Door” starring Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell.
This marks one of few lead acting roles Stiller has taken on in recent years, as he has increasingly focused on directing and producing (with great success). He is best known for his roles in films like “Zoolander,” “Tropic Thunder,” and “There’s Something About Mary,” while his recent credits include “Happy Gilmore 2” and “Nutcrackers.” As a producer/director, he has been behind shows like “Severance” as well as “Escape at Dannemora” and “In the Dark.”
In addition to “The Savant” and “The Dealer, Chastain previously starred in the limited series “George and Tammy” opposite Michael Shannon, in which they played George Jones and Tammy Wynette. She won the Academy Award for best actress for her work in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” in 2022. She has been nominated two other times — for “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help.” Her other notable film roles include starring in “The Good Nurse,” “Armageddon Time,” “Molly’s Game,” “Interstellar,” and “A Most Violent Year.”
Chastain is repped by Mosaic, CAA, imPRint and Hansen, Jacobson. Stiller is repped by WME, VIE, ID and Sloane Offer. Showalter and Semi-Formal are repped by UTA, Artists First, Goodman Genow, and 42West. Nutting is repped by CAA and Artists First. Bakopoulos is repped by Literate Management, Paradigm Talent Agency, and The Nord Group LLP.
