Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne producing TV adaptation of indie ghost comedy Extra Ordinary

The movie was about a woman who can see ghosts dealing with some weird occult neighbors

By Sam Barsanti  |  October 5, 2021 | 11:49pm
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Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne producing TV adaptation of indie ghost comedy Extra Ordinary
Natsha Lyonne, Maya Rudolph Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Planned Parenthood

We never would’ve seen this coming when the original movie was just an imported New Zealand cult classic, but FX’s version of What We Do In The Shadows seems to have inspired a new trend of American TV networks making adaptations of comedy movies from other countries about spooky creatures. According to Deadline, TBS is developing an adaptation of Extra Ordinary, the indie ghost comedy from 2019 that was released in the U.S. just before the pandemic started in 2020 about a woman in Ireland (Maeve Higgins) who can see ghosts and a man whose daughter is being targeted by occult weirdos (said weirdos are played by Will Forte and Claudia O’Doherty!).

The TV version is coming from Animal Pictures, the production company run by Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne, and indie producer Danielle Renfrew Behrens, and it sounds like it’s going to follow a more protracted version of the movie’s plot. Original Extra Ordinary writers/directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman will be returning to both write and direct the TV version.

In a review of the film for The A.V. Club last year, Jesse Hassenger highlighted a good running joke about Ghostbusters, compared it to the “time-warped qualities” of Napoleon Dynamite, and said that its “unusual warmth lingers in the air like a friendly ghost.” Star Maeve Higgins was also recognized as the best part of the original movie, so it will be interesting to see how TBS and these big-name producers try to live up to that.

Maybe they could just add more Claudia O’Doherty? It’s been a few years since she was low-key the best part of an American TV show. We’re not saying she has to be the star, but she could pop in for a cameo like she’s the Boba Fett of the Extra Ordinary universe.

 
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