Sandra Oh and Awkwafina aren’t sisters in real life, but they’re about to be on the big screen. Following a competitive situation, 20th Century Studios has acquired the rights to an untitled sister comedy from Gloria Sanchez. Sandra Oh (Killing Eve, Grey’s Anatomy) and Awkwafina (The Farewell, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) have already signed on to star, with Jessica Yu (This is Us, Walker) set to direct. Jen D’Angelo, who recently conjured a script for Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2, will write the screenplay. Will Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum produce alongside Italy Reiss and Maggie Haskins of Artists First. Alex Brown executive produces via Gloria Sanchez.
Originally, the untitled project was being set up at Netflix. After sitting on the rights for a while, Netflix allowed them to be put back on the market. This is when things got heated, and several studios put their name in the hat. Ultimately, the project went to 20th Century Studio, where it’s being prioritized for development.
According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, the untitled Sisters comedy follows a brilliant but tightly wound, Jeopardy-obsessed young woman (Awkwafina) must reunite with her estranged, train-wreck of a sister (Oh) when they’re forced to come up with the money to cover their mother’s gambling debts. The two embark on a wild, cross-country trek in a desperate hope to win enough cash the only way they can think of—by turning our reluctant hero into a bonafide JEOPARDY champion.
Oh is currently in production on the fourth season of the Emmy-winning series Killing Eve. She’s also getting ready to take a seat on the Netflix dramedy The Chair, which focuses on the first woman of color to earn a chair at a major university. As she tries to meet the dizzying demands of academia, she finds herself challenged by a failing English department.
As for Awkwafina, she most recently appeared in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Beyond being a superhero of sorts, she’s set to star opposite Mahershala Ali in Apple’s Swan Song, as well as Renfield at Universal. She’s also set to voice Ms. Tarantula in Pierre Perifel’s feature-directing debut The Bad Guys.
Oh and Awkwafina sounds like a fine match to me. Both are incredibly talented actresses at the top of their game, and I’m interested to see what their on-screen chemistry will be like. We’ll be sure to bring you more details about this project as it continues to develop.
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