'The Starling': Netflix Wins Worldwide Rights To Melissa McCarthy Drama

We're relying on movies and TV in a huge way to entertain us right now, but what happens when the spigot runs dry and streaming services burn though all of their new content? Many productions across the world have come to a standstill in the wake of the coronavirus, but before things totally came to a halt, a film called The Starling wrapped production. Now, always looking to keep new content flowing, Netflix has scooped up the worldwide rights to the movie for nearly $20 million. Get details about the new Melissa McCarthy drama below.

The story follows a married couple who suffer a tragedy that puts a strain on their relationship. The husband (played by Chris O'Dowd) goes to recovery in an attempt to overcome with his grief, while the wife (McCarthy) tries to heal at home through growing a garden in their backyard. But a nearby starling begins attacking her, so she seeks help from a local vet (Kevin Kline) who used to be a psychiatrist and has baggage of his own.

According to Deadline, Netflix locked in a deal for the movie after reading the script and watching a four-minute sizzle reel from the film. 101 Studios, Lionsgate, and Sony 3000 were reportedly also in the mix, but Netflix paid somewhere in the range of $20 million and walked away with the rights. The film has completed principal photography and is currently in post-production; considering the incredibly odd time in which we find ourselves, those circumstances mean it was in a solid position to be picked up.

There's no official release date in place from the streamer quite yet, but the expectation is that this could be another awards contender for Melissa McCarthy, so a fall release seems likely. The film reunites her with director Ted Melfi, who helmed the indie feature St. Vincent a few years ago and who made a splash with Hidden Figures back in 2016. McCarthy is one of the best comedic forces in Hollywood (when she isn't acting in abysmal comedies directed by her husband, Ben Falcone), but over the past few years, she's taken the trajectory of many on-screen comedians before her and branched out into dramatic roles. She earned an Oscar nomination for Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and this seems like another opportunity for her to spread her wings (Get it? Wings? It's a starling pun) and show the world what else she can do.