Netflix Acquires Kim Kardashian’s Comedy “The Fifth Wheel”
Many major players wanted Kim Kardashian’s The Fifth Wheel, but Netflix has won the honor.
Deadline reports that Netflix emerged victorious after a very competitive bidding war that saw five bids from suitors, including streamers and theatrical distributors. The Fifth Wheel will star Kardashian and was written by Janine Brito and Paula Pell, the latter of whom will produce alongside Kardashian. Deadline‘s reporting includes intel that Kardashian was very involved in the process of selling the female-driven comedy, appearing at the pitch meetings.
Little is known about Kardashian’s project, except that she will play the titular fifth wheel and star alongside an ensemble female cast. Deadline also writes that the speed with which this all happened was remarkable—Pell and Brito conceived the idea, pitched Kardashian “almost immediately after the strike ended,” and within days, they presented their package to the market, and it quickly became the first post-strike sale.
Kardashian’s production of The Fifth Wheel brings her considerable marketing savvy and clout to the project. The Fifth Wheel landed in Netflix’s mid-budget tier, scooped up by Niija Kuykendall at the streamer. It joins other mid-budget films like the romance Lonely Planet, starring Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth; the romantic comedy A Family Affair, starring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King; and Dan Levy’s directorial debut Good Grief, which stars Levy, Ruth Nega, Himesh Patel, and Luke Evans, and Tyler Perry’s Six Triple Eight starring Kerry Washington.
Kardashian recently received the best acting notices of her career after her performance as a publicist in the most recent season of FX’s American Horror Story. In Pell, Kardashian is working with one of the most seasoned comedy writers out there, having worked on SNL and then 30 Rock and penning the sibling comedy Sisters, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Brito wrote on NBC’s Mr. Mayor, stars in the Peacock series Girls5Eva , and appeared in Netflix’s Wine Country. Pell and Brito are married.
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Featured image: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 25: Kim Kardashian speaks onstage at the 2023 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)
