The half-hour series will center around a married couple in their 40s who are selected to participate in a human trial for an experimental drug therapy. The drug purports to be able to stop the aging process. The couple quickly finds out how extending their life could impact their relationships, careers, and ambitions.
Red Hour, headed up by Ben Stiller and Nicky Weinstock, along with One-Two Punch Productions, ITV Studios and Victor Levin, will executive produce the project. Levin (Mad Men, Mad About You) is currently executive producer, writer, and director for Survivor’s Remorse, which airs on Starz. Late Bloomers was written and created by Donal Lardner Ward (How to Make It in America) who also wrote, produced, and directed the independent film We Only Know So Much, which stars Noah Schnapp, who played Will in the Netflix original series Stranger Things, along with Jeanne Tripplehorn (Criminal Minds) and Damian Young (The Good Wife).
In addition to his extensive acting credits, most recently in Zoolander 2, Stiller has also served as executive producer on a number of projects, including the TV series The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail and Another Period, The Polka King, and Why Him. Red Hour has produced many of the films in which Stiller has starred, including Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Zoolander, Starchy & Hutch, and Blades of Glory.
Late Bloomers will help beef up Amazon’s roster of comedy originals. While the streaming service has launched a number of series in the comedy or comedy-drama genre, like Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent, Red Oaks, and Crisis in Six Scenes, it has excelled mainly in drama with popular shows like Bosch, The Man in the High Castle, Goliath, Sneaky Pete, and Z: The Beginning of Everything. This series sounds like it might have more of a sitcom vibe, competing with Netflix award-nominated comedies like Grace & Frankie and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
There are very few details about Late Bloomers so far, and no casting announcements have been made.
