A 'Between Two Ferns' Movie Is Secretly Already Filming, And Nothing Makes Sense Anymore

Zach Galifianakis' awkward web series is getting its own film at Netflix.

Yes, a Between Two Ferns movie has already secretly begun filming for the streaming service, and no, we have no idea why they'd choose to make a movie instead of just making more individual episodes. Learn more about the film version below.

If you've been on the internet in the past ten years, there's a 100% chance you've come across at least one Between Two Ferns episode. The online show featured Galifianakis playing a particularly acerbic version of himself as he insulted and demeaned his celebrity guests on a crappy-looking set which was purposefully made to resemble a low-budget public-access television studio, complete with the titular potted ferns bookending the frame.

The Hollywood Reporter says that podcaster extraordinaire Scott Aukerman, who co-created the original web series and directed several episodes of it, is on board to direct this movie version. Peter Dinklage, David Letterman, Keanu Reeves, and Galifianakis' Hangover co-stars Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper are slated to appear. Those first four guys will be first-time guests on the show (or I guess this is a movie now), but the last time Cooper was on the show, this happened:

Back in 2016, Galifianakis seemed to indicate that the show had run out of gas:

"The talk show I put online is kind of its own attack on talk shows, but it's also so one-note. I don't know what else to do with "Between Two Ferns." It's kind of run its course a bit."

But later that year, he released an episode with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton which racked up more than 30 million views in a single day. Since then, only one new episode has aired: this summer, Galifianakis interviewed Jerry Seinfeld and Cardi B.

My gut reaction: a Between Two Ferns movie sounds stupid. Why not just make more episodes of the show? But then again, this is going to be on Netflix and presumably won't be getting a theatrical release (at least, not a big one), and at that point, is there even a serious distinction between the web show as it currently exists and a movie? The wild cards in all this, of course, are the format and the story. We technically don't know if this is just going to be like one long episode of the show that cycles through all the guests in the same location, or if Auckerman and Galifianakis could break the mold and do some sort of meta exploration of the show in movie form. Anything's possible at this point – remember when we all thought a Facebook movie sounded stupid and then got The Social Network?