Comedian, writer, actor, and producer Jerry Seinfeld is now making his directorial debut with a film about everyone's favorite breakfast pastry. Set in Michigan in 1963, Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story centers on a bitter rivalry between Kellogg and Post, two cereal makers in a race to create an innovative breakfast pastry. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Jim Gaffigan, and James Marsden will star in the comedy alongside Seinfeld, described in its press release as "a tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar and menacing milkmen."
Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Tom Lennon (Reno 911!), Adrian Martinez (Stumptown), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), Max Greenfield (New Girl), Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), and Sarah Cooper (Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine) will round out the sweet supporting cast.
Produced by Netflix, Seinfeld is directing from a script he wrote with Spike Feresten, Andy Robin, and Barry Marder. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Seinfeld, Feresten, and Bauman will produce; Cherylanne Martin, Andy Robin, and Barry Marder will act as executive producers.
Unfrosted is Based on Bit from 2020 Stand-Up Set
Although Netflix's Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story marks Seinfeld's directorial debut, the comedian previously worked with the streaming service on 2020 stand-up 23 Hours to Kill. His first original special in over two decades, Seinfeld wrote, starred, and served as executive producer on the special.
It was from this set that Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story got its origins—in a bit based on Seinfeld's first experience seeing the toaster pastry as an eight-year-old boy, the comedian jokes, "I don't know how long it took them to invent the Pop-Tart, but they must have come out of that lab like Moses with the two tables and the Ten Commandments."
In a recent interview with The New York Times, the comedic legend further breaks down the joke: "How did they know that there would be a need for a frosted, fruit-filled heated rectangle in the same shape as the box it comes in, and with the same nutrition as the box it comes in?"
There's no word on a release date yet, but with production believed to start later this year, we can likely expect the film to hit Netflix sometime in 2023. In the meantime, fans can watch Seinfeld's special 23 Hours to Kill and his show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee on the streamer.