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Streaming’s Long, Slow Journey to Television

Filmmaker Adam McCay has been pitching a star-studded political dramedy, but challenging streaming economics have made it difficult to find a home.
Filmmaker Adam McCay has been pitching a star-studded political dramedy, but challenging streaming economics have made it difficult to find a home. Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
March 23, 2023

Adam McKay has been making the rounds lately with a pitch for an allegorical dramedy, and it sounds pretty interesting. The film, dubbed Average Height, Average Build, is said to be about a serial killer who gets into politics in an effort to change the laws to be more, well, murder-friendly. McKay’s got Robert Pattinson attached to lead what will likely be a starry cast, with Robert Downey, Jr. and more in the mix. Good stuff.  

But as with most McKay projects, the budget is high for a political dramedy, and despite the fact that his past three movies as a director have generated 17 total Oscar nominations, McKay hasn’t been a huge box office draw since he left studio comedies—though Don’t Look Up, starring tile-friendly Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, is Netflix’s second most-watched movie of all time, with 360 million hours viewed.