#Jerry Seinfeld Will Direct and Star in Pop-Tarts Movie Based on Famous Joke

Yes, it’s true. Jerry Seinfeld will tackle the origins of the Pop Tart in a new movie for Netflix. Per Deadline, the streamer has just greenlit a new movie with the iconic comedian on board to direct, produce, and star in a leading role. Heavily inspired by a famous joke told on stage about the invention of the Pop Tart, Seinfeld also co-wrote the screenplay with Spike Feresten and Barry Marder. Production will start next spring.

“Stuck at home watching endless sad faces on TV, I thought this would be a good time to make something based on pure silliness,” Seinfeld said of the deal while confirming the project to Deadline. “So we took my Pop Tart stand up bit from my last Netflix special and exploded it into a giant, crazy comedy movie.”

Over the past several days, Unfrosted had been quietly shopped to potential buyers. It was Seinfeld’s relationship with Ted Sarandos at Netflix that helped swing the deal that direction, as Jerry had previously signed a lucrative deal at Netflix in 2017. That deal saw his mobile talk show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee coming to the streamer along with the specials Jerry Before Seinfeld and 23 Hours to Kill. Later this year, classic Seinfeld will hit Netflix as its streaming home for the next five years.

Fans of Seinfeld’s comedy may have long known that the comic is particularly amused by how Pop Tarts were created. In a previous interview with The New York Times, Seinfeld completely broke down his thought process over turning his thoughts on Pop Tarts into material to be told on stage. While it seems like nothing more than a simple observation when regaled on stage, it’s taken years of thinking and pages of notes for the prolific comedian to perfect the Pop Tart joke.

The joke itself is based on Seinfeld’s first experience seeing Pop Tarts as an eight-year-old child. As the comic jokes: “How did they know that there would be a need for a frosted fruit-filled heated rectangle in the same shape as the box it comes in, and with the same nutrition as the box it comes in?”

While he’s a legend of both stand-up comedy and television history, Seinfeld’s work in movies has been much more limited. He voiced the lead role in the animated children’s movie Bee Movie in 2007, which he also co-wrote and produced. Seinfeld also executive produced and appeared in the 2002 documentary Comedian and appeared in other comedy docs over the years as well.

Unfrosted doesn’t yet have an official release date set by Netflix at this time, and with production not due to begin until early next year, it could be a while before we’ll find out when the movie will be released. So as long as production goes smoothly, we could end up seeing the movie by the end of 2022 on the platform. Until then, fans can watch Seinfeld’s first original special in over two decades, 23 Hours to Kill, on Netflix along with Jerry’s show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. This news comes to us from Deadline.

Topics: Frosted