Ed Helms has signed on to co-star with Jennifer Garner in the Netflix comedy “Family Leave,” with McG joining as director and producer.
Garner, who also serves as a producer, has been attached to the film since Feb. 2021. Adam Sztykiel (“Black Adam”, “Scoob!”) is handling the rewrite of Victoria Strouse’s (“Finding Dory”, “Let It Snow”) script, which is based on “Bedtime for Mommy” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
The film follows Jess and Bill Walker, a couple determined to keep their family close as their kids are growing older and less connected to one another. One day, after a chance meeting with an astrological reader, they wake up to find that they’ve switched bodies with a family living on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, the body swap happens to take place on the most important day in their individual lives, with a promotion, college interview, record deal and soccer tryout on the table.
In addition to Garner, producers are Lawrence Grey and Ben Everard for Grey Matter Productions; Nicole King Solaka for Linden Entertainment; and McG and Mary Viola for Wonderland. David Hyman and Jason Brian Rosenthal will executive produce.
Helms served as a correspondent on “The Daily Show” before breaking out with “The Office” and “The Hangover” trilogy. He starred in, co-created and wrote the comedy “Rutherford Falls,” which ran for two seasons on Peacock. Other recent credits include roles in series “Big Mouth” and “Fraggle Rock,” along with the Sundance film “Together Together.” Next up, Helms and Max Werner are at work on family comedy series “Weird Like Us” for Fox.
He is repped by UTA, Artists First, and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.
McG is known for “Charlie’s Angels” and sequel “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” as well as films like “The Babysitter” and “Rim of the World”. Among other TV credits, he has directed episodes of “Lethal Weapon” and “Shadowhunters.” McG will next direct the film “Uglies” and “True Lies” for CBS.
