Chelsea Peretti’s First Time Female Director lands at Roku

Roku has acquired the U.S. rights to First Time Female Director, a comedy feature film created by Chelsea Peretti (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Sing 2,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Big Mouth”) for its Roku Originals content. In addition to making her directorial debut with “First Time Female Director,” Peretti also wrote, produced and starred in the film. The film features an ensemble cast of established and rising comedians and will stream for free exclusively on The Roku Channel in 2024.

“First Time Female Director” is set in a local theater in Glendale, California. Sam, a newly minted female director (Peretti) struggles to fill the shoes of her male predecessor, putting her Southern rural drama in jeopardy. Sam experiences real life drama as she struggles to wrangle her unimpressed cast of local actors (Benito Skinner, Kate Berlant, Megan Stalter, Megan Mullally, Jak Knight, and Blake Anderson). With no one to lean on but her deeply troubled therapist, Meg (Amy Poehler) and a desperate usher (Max Greenfield), Sam grasps for guidance from the theatre’s sadistic artistic director, Sheldon (Andy Richter). All the while the company’s ticket-taker Star (Xosha Roquemore) is secretly rising up the ranks behind the scenes. When it rains, it pours.

In addition to Peretti, the standout cast includes Blake Anderson (“Woke,” “Workaholics”), Kate Berlant (“Would It Kill You to Laugh?” “A League of Their Own”), Jak Knight (“Bust Down,” “Big Mouth”), Emmy Award winner Megan Mullally (“Will & Grace,” “Party Down”), Benito Skinner (“Queer as Folk”) and Megan Stalter (“Hacks,” “Cora Bora”).

“First Time Female Director” also features appearances by Max Greenfield (“New Girl,” “The Neighborhood”), Brad Hall (“Saturday Night Live”), Tim Heidecker (“Eastbound & Down”), Natasha Leggero (“Another Period,” “Rat in the Kitchen”), Emmy winner Amy Poehler (“Russian Doll,” “Moxie”), Andy Richter (“Portlandia,” “Black-ish,” “Conan”) and Xosha Roquemore (“Atlanta,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy”), plus plenty of surprise cameos for audiences.

“First Time Female Director” is produced by FOX Entertainment’s MarVista Entertainment and Paper Kite Productions. Angie Day, Ani Kevork, Hannah Pillemer, Tony Vassiliadis, and Fernando Szew produce for MarVista Entertainment. In addition to Peretti, producers include Amy Poehler, Kate Arend and Jordan Grief for Paper Kite Productions, and Deanna Barillari (“Monday,” “Long Weekend”).

“First Time Female Director” joins The Roku Channel’s expanding slate of Roku Originals including “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story,” “The Great American Baking Show,” “Die Hart 2: Die Harter,” “Meet Me in Paris,” “Honest Renovations” and more. From award-winning scripted entertainment and engaging documentaries to new breakout unscripted series, Roku Originals gives viewers free access to bold, fresh entertainment from the biggest names in Hollywood.

The deal was brokered by WME Independent on behalf of Paper Kite Productions and Mar Vista Entertainment.

FOX Entertainment Global will oversee sale of worldwide rights outside of the U.S. for “First Time Female Director.”