Amplify Pictures & Stay Tuned Unveil Revival of Ben Schwartz’s Cult Comedy ‘The Earliest Show’

Amplify Pictures and Stay Tuned have officially greenlit the revival of Ben Schwartz’s cult comedy ‘The Earliest Show’, a project that has been in the works since its initial commissioning for a six-part TV series. The revival will now be fully co-financed and jointly taken to market by the two indie studios, with Irony Point and Funny or Die also attached.

The cast of the series has been rounded out with the addition of Kevin Carroll (Widow’s Bay) and Ryan Gaul (The Last O.G.) as series regulars, joining Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus. Henry Winkler (Barry) and Brandon Scott Jones will take on recurring roles in the show.

The Earliest Show is based on the cult Funny or Die comedy of the same name, in which Schwartz and Lapkus played hosts of the U.S.’s earliest live morning show, starting at 3 a.m. sharp from their tiny upstate New York town. The new series will follow the same basic set-up, with Schwartz writing and directing all episodes.

Amplify Pictures CEO Joe Lewis praised the project, calling it “exactly the kind of bold, inventive series that indie TV was made for – wildly original, occasionally unhinged and undeniably hilarious.”

Executive producers on the project include Amplify’s Lewis, Rachel Eggebeen, Colin King Miller, and Luke Esselen; Stay Tuned’s Kenny Neibart, Douglas Banker, and Barry Kotler; Daniel Powell and Alex Bach from Irony Point, which is overseeing physical production; Schwartz; and Funny or Die’s Ricardo Martinez, Ben Gigli, and Jessica Renick.

The new cast members have also secured representation with their respective talent agencies: Gaul is represented by Think Tank Management and attorney Ryan LeVine, while Jons is repped by CAA, Mosaic, and Granderson des Rochers LLP.

The model employed by Amplify Pictures involves developing, financing, greenlighting, and producing projects in-house, before selling them to buyers. This strategy has been employed for successful projects such as HBO doc series 100 Foot Wave, Peabody-winning doc Come See Me in the Good Light, and a suite of TV series.

Stay Tuned has also set itself up in a similar manner, developing, financing, and producing projects outside of the studio system that can be marketed ready for sale. The company is led by screenwriter Kenny Neibart, exec producer Douglas Banker, and former CAA agent Barry Kotler.

With the revival of The Earliest Show now officially greenlit, fans of the original comedy can look forward to a new take on the cult classic.