Key Takeaways
- Bill Hader’s debut: He is making his feature directorial debut with the horror film They Know.
- Story collaboration: Hader co-wrote the story with Duffy Boudreau, known for the series Barry.
- Role details: Hader will star as a divorced father suspicious of his ex-wife’s new relationship.
- Production team: The film is produced under Hader’s Hanarply banner with MRC financing.
Bill Hader is best known for his work in comedy (after all, he was a Saturday Night Live cast member for more than 150 episodes), but he did stray into the horror genre to play Richie Tozier in It: Chapter Two. Now, Deadline reports that Hader is set to make his feature directorial debut, and he’s going to do so with a horror movie called They Know.
What is the story of They Know?
Hader crafted the story for They Know with Duffy Boudreau, who was a writer and producer on his dark comedy HBO TV series Barry, which ran for four seasons and 32 episodes, starting in 2018 and wrapping up in 2023. After he and Boudreau had the story in place, Hader wrote the screenplay himself.
Hader will also be starring in the film, taking on the role of a divorced dad who grows suspicious that his ex-wife is secretly dating a mysterious man who is having a strange influence on their children. I don’t want to go too far into personal life TMZ territory, but it could be worth noting that Hader is a divorced father himself and has been in relationships with a couple different single mothers, so it’s easy to imagine that he might have come up with the idea while pondering the worst case scenarios of situations he has been in himself.
What can we expect behind the scenes?
As Deadline notes, “With the film, Hader is set to become the latest major comedic talent to make his mark in horror, joining a lineage that includes the likes of Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, and most recently, Curry Barker.”
MRC is financing the project. Bob Graf and Hader are producing They Know under Hader’s Hanarply banner, with Alyssa Donovan co-producing.
Hader previously directed 18 episodes of Barry. He co-created that show with Alec Berg and wrote multiple episodes. He has also received writing credits on Saturday Night Live, The Line, South Park, Inside Out, and Documentary Now!
Are you a Bill Hader fan, and are you glad to hear that he’s making his feature directorial debut with a horror movie? Share your thoughts on They Know by leaving a comment below.
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