Reno 911! co-creator Robert Ben Garant is taking his next comedy outside the traditional greenlight system. Weekly World News Studios has raised $2.5 million from six private investors to film a six-episode improvised mockumentary set inside the satirical tabloid’s newsroom. Production is scheduled to start the first week of February in Simi Valley, California.
The math behind the deal
Garant and frequent collaborator Cathy Shim will co-showrun and executive produce. Weekly World News editor-in-chief Greg D’Alessandro is writer and executive producer.
- $2.5 million raised from six private investors
- Six episodes planned, with room to expand depending on improv
- Production begins the first week of February in Simi Valley
- No California tax credit: the budget is below the $1 million-per-episode threshold
Spread evenly across six episodes, the financing works out to roughly $416,000 per episode, a price point the producers say could fit platforms and budget-constrained basic cable networks.
Shooting first, selling later
The strategy follows comedian Shane Gillis, who shot six episodes of his comedy Tiers independently before selling it to Netflix. Garant and Shim have felt the comedy market shrink: their FX pilot Movers received a pilot order last year but did not go to series, following earlier pilots for TruTV and Comedy Central that also stopped short. After the Reno 911! revival for Quibi/Roku six years ago, this is Garant’s first series effort.
“Our take is that every story in the Weekly World News is true. If it made the paper, it happened,” Garant said. “So our reporters are busting their ass to report these incredible stories, but they all have chips on their shoulders because everyone thinks their paper is a joke.”
D’Alessandro framed the premise plainly: “In a world where nobody knows what to believe, the reporters at Weekly World News have the advantage of believing absolutely everything.”
The producers intend to begin pitching platforms and distributors once filmed footage exists. Because the show is improvised, the team is using “scriptments” rather than locked scripts, and the episode count could grow beyond six.
What this signals for the screen business
For entertainment marketers and content buyers, the project is a low-cost proof of concept: a known brand, an established creative team, and a finished season that reduces a buyer’s development risk. Weekly World News Studios has already used its library for film; it produced The Zombie Wedding in 2024 and has a live-action Bat Boy series that was previously set up at Netflix.
The Weekly World News print tabloid ran from 1979 to 2007, but the brand has stayed active on social media, giving the series a built-in comedic IP lane.
The team chose Los Angeles cast and crew even though the show does not qualify for a California tax credit. Garant, Shim and D’Alessandro are betting that recognizable faces and a deliverable season will matter more to buyers than shooting in a higher-incentive state such as New Mexico or New Jersey.
Source: Deadline
