Jonah Hill to Star in Kenya Barris Feature Directorial Debut for Netflix (Exclusive)

Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill have teamed up for a comedy feature at Netflix.

Hill will star in the project, which he co-wrote with Barris. Barris, perhaps best known for creating the critically acclaimed ABC comedy Black-ish, is set to make his feature directorial debut.

The two are also producing, Barris via his Khalabo Ink Society banner, Hill through his Strong Baby shingle. Also producing is Kevin Misher of Misher Films.

Plot details are being kept under the cloche, but it is said to be a modern look at the themes tackled in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, the 1967 classic that saw a white couple’s daughter surprise her parents with a Black fiancé. (The movie starred Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton.)

The aim is to shoot this fall in Los Angeles.

Exec producing are E. Brian Dobbins, Strong Baby’s Matt Dines and Ali Goodwin, and Andy Berman.

Barris’ Black-ish ran seven seasons on ABC and spawned a few spinoffs, with the showrunner also directing a handful of episodes. As an in-demand screenwriter for Black voices in film, his recent credits include Coming 2 America with Eddie Murphy and the Cheaper by the Dozen remake, now filming. The multi-hyphenate has numerous film and TV projects on the go, including a Richard Pryor biopic that he is to write, producer, and direct, as well as a feature based on the songs of Bob Marley.

Hill recently wrapped a starring turn opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio in Adam McKay’s satire Don’t Look Up, which Netflix will release later this year. He last wrote Mid90s, a coming-of-age drama that he also directed.

Barris is repped by CAA, Artists First and attorney Gregg Gellman. Hill is repped by WME, LBI and attorney Karl Austen.