Ben Stiller is set to star in and executive produce Protective Custody, a new comedy series from Mike Judge (Silicon Valley), Steve Hely (Common Side Effects) and Dave King (Parks and Recreation) that Apple is developing with an eye toward a series order.
Protective Custody will be co-written, co-showrun and executive produced by Judge, Hely and King, with Judge attached to direct. Hailing from Apple Studios, Red Hour, Propagate Content, and 3 Arts Entertainment, the show will also be exec produced by Stiller and John Lesher for Red Hour; Ben Silverman (The Office, Stick), Howard Owens, and Rodney Ferrell for Propagate Content; Michael Rotenberg (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Silicon Valley) and Oly Obst (Nobody Wants This, Will Trent) for 3 Arts Entertainment; and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein.
Protective Custody originated as a pitch to Apple from Ben Silverman and Propagate Content, who had established a valued collaboration on the acclaimed Owen Wilson comedy series Stick, as well as the doc The Last First: Winter K2. They conceived the show, we’re told, as Hogan’s Heroes meets The Office — the latter, a show Silverman helped bring to the U.S. and exec produced.
After all the success Stiller had seen behind the scenes at Apple — particularly with the Emmy-winning drama Severance — there was an excitement about finding the right opportunity for Stiller to anchor an Apple series on screen — and particularly, a comedy, given Apple’s appetite and ambition for expanding in the comedy space.
Stiller quickly sparked to the idea for the series, with Judge and his collaborators then entering the fold.
Judge had already been circling the idea of a comedy in the jail space, sources said, and given the quality of the material that presented as scripts were written, Protective Custody quickly went from a development title to a priority project for Apple, with an eye toward catching Stiller, Judge and company at a window all are available to work in.
Protective Custody reunites Judge with Hely and King following their collaboration on Common Side Effects, the Peabody Award-winning adult animated series from Adult Swim.
(Excerpt) Read More in: Deadline