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David Harbour and John Cena to star in comedy The Family Disappears

Fifth Season is producing The Family Disappears, a comedy with thriller undertones directed by Jonatan Etzler and starring David Harbour and John Cena. Production is due to begin in Atlanta on 10 November.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Deadline
Image: The A.V. Club

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Fifth Season is set to produce The Family Disappears, a new comedy directed by Jonatan Etzler and starring David Harbour and John Cena, Deadline reported in an exclusive. Centre · 1The film is based on an original script by Brendan O'Hare, with thriller undertones. It follows an overworked dad who returns from a work trip to find his family has disappeared and a mysterious newcomer has bought and moved into their home. Mixed · 2Production begins in Atlanta, Georgia, on 10 November.

Centre · 1The producers are Nick Weidenfeld, through Friends Night, and Alexis Garcia, through CAT5. They made the comedy Friendship, starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, for Fifth Season and A24. Mixed · 2Deadline said the film seems thematically and perhaps tonally in the vein of Friendship and of HBO's DTF St. Louis, which just brought Harbour an Emmy. Harbour stars in that limited series opposite Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini. Centre · 1Harbour is finishing his five seasons on Stranger Things and has a slate that includes Evil Genius, Violent Night 2, Little One, Avengers: Doomsday, John Rambo and A Head Full of Ghosts.

Centre · 1Cena received his first Emmy nomination this year as executive producer of Prime Video's Heads of State. His upcoming projects include Matchbox the Movie and One Attempt Remaining. Centre · 1Etzler is a Swedish filmmaker who directed the dark comedy Bad Apples, starring Saoirse Ronan, and the Netflix original One More Time. Left · 1The A.V. Club noted that this is the first on-screen pairing of the two actors, and said it could not tell whether the film is a thriller-comedy or a comedy-thriller. It guessed that Harbour would play the father and Cena the newcomer, which neither the film's description nor Deadline confirms.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Playful, speculative commentary on the casting built on Deadline's report.
Emphasis
The novelty of pairing the two action-comedy stars and guesses about the plot and roles.
Leaves out or plays down
Leaves out the cast members' credits and slates and most of the crew details.
Charged language
“demented”
For example
“the demented A24 buddy comedy Friendship” — The A.V. Club
“we assume, anyway” — The A.V. Club

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Trade-press exclusive announcing the project, with production details, cast and crew credentials and upcoming slates.
Emphasis
Producers, premise, start date, and the actors' and director's credits and representation.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not say which actor plays which role.
For example
“EXCLUSIVE: Fifth Season is set to produce The Family Disappears” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.