Netflix and the Duplass brothers, Jay and Mark, have agreed to a deal that sees the brothers produce four films for Netflix. The Untitled Duplass Brothers Ray Romano Project, the first film in the deal, will be released later this year. Netflix describes the project as “a bittersweet bromance about friendship, mortality, and made-up sports.” Ray Romano star alongside Mark Duplass. Alex Lehmann directs.
“Jay and Mark are the most enterprising filmmakers in the business,” said Ian Bricke, director of independent film at Netflix. “They have embraced Netflix as much as our subscribers have embraced their films. Having worked with Mark and Jay for over a decade, we have huge admiration for their creative passion and filmmaking smarts. We are thrilled for this next chapter of our relationship.”
Netflix’s connection to the Duplass brothers goes back to their first feature film, The Puffy Chair, which Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment co-distributed in 2005. The Duplass brothers also executive produced Netflix’s upcoming documentary series Wild Wild Country. That series premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will be available on Netflix March 16.
“Turns out when you make films for Netflix, millions of people all over the world watch them,” said Jay and Mark. “This is not a terrible thing for an independent filmmaker. As Netflix continues to grow and develop new ways to reach viewers, we couldn’t be more thrilled to grow our partnership.”
HBO has ordered a second season of anthology series Room 104 from the Duplass brothers, and a third season of Animals. Jay is also in the cast on Amazon's Transparent.
