From Netflix to A24?
Back in 2021, Noah Baumbach had signed a multi-year deal with Netflix. This agreement, committed him to writing and directing several films for Netflix over the following years. He’s made three, so far. I’m now starting to wonder if the deal has expired.
Yes, Baumbach is officially making the leap to television, and it’s not with Netflix. The filmmaker is partnering with A24 for his first-ever TV series, an adaptation of Andrew Ridker’s 2018 novel “Hope.”
The series will mark Baumbach’s third collaboration with A24 after their work together on 2015’s “While We’re Young,” and “De Palma,” the latter a doc on the renowned “Blow Out” filmmaker. However, “Hope” sounds like a more ambitious undertaking, with a heftier price tag.
Ridker’s “Hope,” set around 2008, follows an affluent Jewish family in suburban Boston whose carefully maintained image begins to unravel after a public scandal shakes their foundations. It’s a milieu tailor-made for Baumbach, who has built his career tackling tensions of upper-middle-class life.
Baumbach has flirted with television before, but this will be his first official foray on the small screen. It’s a move that also aligns with A24’s aggressive expansion into TV, where the indie studio has already carved out hits like “Euphoria,” “Beef,” and “Ramy.” No word yet on which network or streamer Baumbach’s series will air on.
Baumbach has spent the last decade traveling between Netflix-backed dramas (“Marriage Story,” “White Noise”) and co-writing with Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”). His upcoming “Jay Kelly,” starring Adam Sandler and George Clooney, and produced by Netflix, is set to premiere this week at the Venice Film Festival.
No casting or release details have been announced for “Hope,” but the pairing of Baumbach and Ridker’s material seems like a match made in heaven. The novel is known for its dry wit, Jewish guilt, and family fights. There’s also a handful of awkward dinner table conversations. That’s basically Baumbach territory.