• Late Night FKA Untitled Mindy Kaling Comedy

  • Mindy Kaling
  • Set Up
  • Comedy
  • 2016
  • Black List
  • 81.8
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Market: Mon, 26 Sep 2016Sold: Wed, 28 Sep 2016
Actor: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson
AgentRyan Abboushi (CAA)
ManagerRichard Abate (3 Arts)
ProductionScott Rudin Productions
StudioFox 2000
Ultimately landed with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition, with 30West and FilmNation co-financing. 30West took over Imperative's position in the movie. Debuted at Sundance 2019. Amazon set a record by buying U.S.-only rights for $13M at Sundance on 1/26/2019.
A late-night talk show host is at risk of losing her long-running show right when she decides to hire her first female writer.
A struggling female talk show host is about to lose her show when she hires her first female writer that helps her fight for her show back.
A newly hired, out of her depths, female writer works against the disapproval of peers to help save her icy bosses late-night talk show.
An over-the-hill female late night host will have to save her show by taking in a young female inexperienced writer, as they try to make the show both subversive and popular.
Film
Television, Female Protagonist, Comedy, Drama, Dramedy, Feel Good/Uplifting, Female, Fish-Out-Of-Water, Workplace, Writer/Writing
132
PG-13
High
F
White / European
55
Attractive
The Comedian (2016) Obvious Child (2014) The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Present, couple months Flashback to 1980
London comedy club, London streets, Molly's apartment, bathroom, writers' room, 30 rock, Emmy's, stages, bars, back alley, Tonight show set, Kennedy Set
Opens to a 1980 flashback of KATHERINE NEWBURY (19) doing a stand-up at a comedy club in London. She is the only woman, is not taken seriously, and her routine goes poorly. After the show, WALTER LOVELL (50), an American comedy producer, tells her what she did right and wrong. She invites him to her college dorm, and he surprisingly agrees.

Flash forward to present day, where Katherine is married to Walter, now ages 55 and 84 respectively, and receiving an award for her comedy. She thanks Walter, who is now in a wheelchair, in her speech. After the award ceremony, her executive producer BRAD (40s) tells her BONNIE (early 50s) the president of her company that she has been trying to reach her, as well as another employee asking for a raise.

Katherine goes to her hotel bar, where she meets with and eventually sleeps with a 20 something year old banker.

At her office, Katherine meets the disgruntled employee. He asks for a raise with a new child on the way, and Katherine sees the act as sexist. Enraged, he exclaims that there are no female writers working for Katherine anyways. Katherine tells Brad to replaced the employee with a female writer.

Enter MOLLY...