The Earliest Show Revival Greenlit with Kevin Carroll, Henry Winkler, Ryan Gaul, Brandon Scott Jones Joining Cast

The revival of the cult Funny or Die comedy The Earliest Show has been officially greenlit for a television series, according to Deadline. Amplify Pictures and Stay Tuned will co-finance and produce the project.

Kevin Carroll (Widow’s Bay) and Ryan Gaul (The Last O.G.) are joining original stars Ben Schwartz and Lauren Lapkus as series regulars. Henry Winkler (Barry) and Brandon Scott Jones are set for recurring roles. Schwartz will write and direct all episodes.

Who is behind the revival?

Amplify Pictures, which initially commissioned scripts for a six-part series, is partnering with indie studio Stay Tuned to bring the project to market. Irony Point and Funny or Die are also attached as producers. The production model allows creators to retain more creative control and back-end participation. Amplify has used this strategy for projects like the HBO documentary series 100 Foot Wave.

What was the original show about?

The original The Earliest Show was a 2016 comedy where Schwartz and Lapkus played hosts of the U.S.'s earliest live morning show, broadcasting at 3 a.m. from a tiny upstate New York town. The revival will follow the same basic setup, though specific plot details for the new series have not been revealed.

Amplify CEO Joe Lewis called The Earliest Show “exactly the kind of bold, inventive series that indie TV was made for – wildly original, occasionally unhinged and undeniably hilarious.”

Executive producers include Amplify’s Lewis, Rachel Eggebeen, Colin King Miller, and Luke Esselen; Stay Tuned’s Kenny Neibart, Douglas Banker, and Barry Kotler; Irony Point’s Daniel Powell and Alex Bach; and Funny or Die’s Ricardo Martinez, Ben Gigli, and Jessica Renick.