EXCLUSIVE: A romantic comedy classic, Four Weddings and a Funeral, is headed to television. Hulu is developing an hourlong anthology series inspired by the the 1994 British movie to be written and executive produced by The Mindy Project creator, executive producer and star Mindy Kaling and executive producer Matt Warburton.
The duo executive produce with Richard Curtis, who wrote the movie; Jonathan Prince, who was instrumental in putting the project together; Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title, which co-produced the feature; and 3 Arts’ Howard Klein (The Mindy Project). MGM Television, which owns the rights to the movie, is producing with Universal TV where Kaling is based.
Like the movie, the Four Weddings and a Funeral series follows a group of friends as their lives intersect through these five events, with each season following a different story arc. It is still early in the process, but I hear there is an idea to have different characters in a different location each season, with the lead possibly remaining the same.
I hear Kaling and Warburton are working on two scripts. A decision on a potential straight-to-series order is expected to be made by Hulu early next year.
I hear the idea about rebooting Four Weddings and a Funeral as an anthology series started with Prince. He tracked the rights down to MGM TV, where he had recently worked on 38 Nooses, a miniseries project for AMC about the execution of 38 Dakota Indians hanged by the U.S. government. Because of her sensibility and her strong brand of contemporary relationship storytelling showcased in The Mindy Project, Kaling was approached and came on board as a writer, bringing Warburton with her as a partner.
Hulu is the home of The Mindy Project, which is heading into its sixth and final season, and has deep ties with Kaling, so the streaming service was a natural destination for Four Weddings and a Funeral. MGM TV also has a strong relationship with Hulu as producer of the breakout new drama The Handmaid’s Tale, which swept the Emmy Awards with eight wins, including best drama series.
MGM TV produces two other successful series reboots of popular movies: FX’s Emmy-winning Fargo and Epix’s Get Shorty, which was renewed for a second season.
The 1994 movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, directed by Mike Newell from a script by Curtis, starred Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. It was a critical and commercial hit, grossing $246 million on a $3.7 million budget and establishing Grant as a romantic comedy leading man. Watch a trailer for the movie below.
In addition to shepherding the final season of The Mindy Project, Kaling executive produces the upcoming NBC comedy series Champions. In features, she co-stars in the upcoming A Wrinkle in Time and is set to start filming an untitled movie that she wrote and stars in opposite Emma Thompson about a veteran late-night talk show host, with Scott Rudin producing. Kaling is repped by CAA, 3 Arts and Ziffren Brittenham.
Before joining The Mindy Project as an executive producer after the pilot when the series was still on Fox, Warburton spent 11 years on Fox’s The Simpsons and did a stint on Community. He is with WME.
