Justin Bettman
Netflix has emerged victorious in a bidding war for “The Fifth Wheel,” a comedy starring Kim Kardashian.
Several major players, including theatrical distributors and streamers, were competing for the film, according to Deadline, which first reported news of the sale. But two of the five companies backed out at the last minute before Kardashian and co-writers Paula Pell and Janine Brito signed with Netflix on the dotted line.
Pell, a “Saturday Night Live” alum, is producing “The Fifth Wheel” with Kardashian. The logline is under wraps, but Kardashian is playing the eponymous “fifth wheel” alongside a female ensemble cast. Her co-stars have not been announced.
Kardashian, the savvy businesswoman behind the loungewear company Skims and star of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” has been cutting her teeth in the world of scripted entertainment. She starred in the most recent season of “American Horror Story” alongside Emma Roberts. Kardashian will be heavily involved in her role as a producer, according to Deadline, and plans to use her influencer status to promote “The Fifth Wheel.” It helps that she has 364 million Instagram followers, as well as a reality show, newly retitled “The Kardashians,” to document her every move.
Netflix’s purchase of “The Fifth Wheel” marks one of the first major sales following the historic SAG-AFTRA strike, which was settled earlier in November. Other mid-budget films on Netflix’s slate include the romantic comedy “A Family Affair,” with Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and Joey King; the Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth drama “Lonely Planet”; and “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator Dan Levy’s directorial debut “Good Grief,” in which he stars alongside Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel and Luke Evans.
Pell also wrote the comedy “Sisters,” starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. She stars in the Peacock series “Girls5Eva” and appeared in Netflix’s “Wine Country.” “The Fifth Wheel” marks the first major screenwriting credit for Brito, who is married to Pell and played her spouse on “Girls5Eva.” Brito also wrote on NBC’s sitcom “Mr. Mayor.”
