Jerry Seinfeld is perhaps best known for his stand-up comedy, as well as co-creating and starring in one of the world’s most beloved sitcoms. But since he co-wrote and lent his voice to the starring role in the animated Bee Movie, he hasn’t really returned to feature-length films. Well, that’s about to change, as both Deadline and Variety report that Seinfeld is co-writing, directing, producing, and starring in Unfrosted, a new film about the origins of Pop-Tarts, for Netflix.
Seinfeld’s fascination with the toaster pastry is well-documented, featuring the breakfast food in his stand-up and in a New York Times video interview on joke writing. Seinfeld is penning this film exploration alongside Spike Feresten and Barry Marder — two of Bee Movie’s co-writers — using the classic stand-up bit as a jumping off point.
Unfrosted has been shopped around for the last few days according to Deadline, but Seinfeld’s existing relationship with Netflix is what helped seal the deal. Besides featuring the comedian’s modern stand-up specials, Netflix also secured the rights to Seinfeld’s popular interview show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee in 2017 and will be the go-to location for anyone looking to binge old Seinfeld episodes later this year.
This is definitely another example of Netflix reinvesting in the relationships with comedy talent it’s been cultivating for the last several years (see Adam Sandler’s Netflix-based streaming empire), but it also just seems like the kind of goofy film idea that could only get greenlit in the heady excesses of our current streaming era.
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