Let the reunion between Anchorman stars Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd commence! The duo has not worked together since the 2013 sequel to the comedy. Fast forward seven years, and Ferrell and Rudd are not reuniting for Anchorman 3. But, they have finally found a new project to reunite in and it is a new TV show!
Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd will star in an adaptation of the podcast The Shrink Next Door for Media Rights Capital (MRC) Television. The podcast follows the stranger than fiction tale that took place between Martin “Marty” Markowitz and his psychiatrist Dr. Isaac “Ike” Herschkopf, when Marty sought a therapist to help him navigate his life. Will Ferrell will take on the role of Marty, while Paul Rudd plays Ike.
When The Shrink Next Door begins, podcast listeners learn that Ike has essentially taken over Marty’s existence. Years later, Ike is living in Marty’s house, which the outside world believes belongs to Ike. And, this will be one of many surprising revelations to come.
The story then picks up with Marty having grown free of Ike’s influence, as a journalist untangles the web that led to a typical therapist / patient relationship getting so horribly out of control. There are a lot of interviews with various people, so I expect many actors to join Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd.
Billed as a dark comedy, the series will dramatize the fascinating relationship that plays out between the two. Ferrell and Rudd’s history working together should help bolster their on-screen dynamic as Marty and Ike.
The success of Bravo’s adaptation of the Wondery podcast Dirty John has been one of many shows setting the podcast-to-TV trend. Podcasts are giving movies a run for their money as adaptive source material. The upcoming Dr. Death show starring Fifty Shades of Grey’s Jamie Dornan, marks yet another example of a podcast getting the TV treatment. So, Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd’s The Shrink Next Door will add to the list of popular podcasts becoming television shows.
I have listened to a couple of episodes of The Shrink Next Door, and the podcast presents as an easily adaptable project that is especially suited to the long-form storytelling of television shows, given how sprawling and complicated the podcast's story is. The source material is quite fascinating, and it will be interesting to see how Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell work in their roles.
Both actors have an evident skill in comedy, so I can't wait to see them also tap into their dramatic abilities. The Shrink Next Door is not a project close to the atmosphere of Anchorman by any stretch of the imagination, and has the capacity to be quite a showcase for both actors.
The Shrink Next Door does not have a streaming service or network on board as a home at this time. I could see it going to premium cable, but would prefer seeing it on a streaming service. Yes, I am hoping it ends up on Netflix! Like You, this will, in all likelihood, be a show you want to binge in quick succession.
Speaking of “succession,” Succession writer and co-executive producer Georgia Pritchett will write and executive produce The Shrink Next Door. Michael Showalter is currently attached to direct and executive produce. Along with starring in The Shrink Next Door, Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell are also on board to executive produce the series.
As you can imagine, a premiere date has not been set. While waiting to see where the series ends up and when it debuts, you can check out this winter and spring’s premieres. Netflix also has a lot of Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd content streaming, along with among new 2020 content.
