Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are teaming up for the new romantic comedy The Lovebirds. Michael Showalter, who directed Nanjiani in last year’s Oscar-nominated The Big Sick will helm the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is being fast-tracked and expected to start production at the end of this month.
The script comes from Aaron Abrams, Brendan Gall and Martin Gero, which centers on a couple (Nanjiani and Rae) on the verge of ending their relationship. Suddenly, the two become involved in a murder mystery where they need to not only clear their names, but see if their relationship will make it through the night.
Tom Lassally, Oly Obst, Todd Shulman, Jordana Mollick and Gero will produce, with Nanjiani, Rae and Showalter all serving as executive producers.
Both Nanjiani and Rae are rising stars in Hollywood. Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon were nominated for Best Original Screenplay for The Big Sick last year, a movie they wrote based on their relationship. The two are currently developing the series Little America for Apple’s new streaming service. In front of the camera, he’ll be appearing in Jordan Peele’s update of The Twilight Zone, the upcoming Men in Black spinoff, and the post-9/11 drama True American alongside Marc Ruffalo.
Rae, meanwhile will appear in Paul Feig’s American Princess, the HBO limited series The Dolls about the Cabbage Patch Kids riots of the mid-1980s, and will produce the musical Love in America. She’s also got her own series on HBO, Insecure, where she’s the writer, executive producer and star.
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
