EXCLUSIVE: Ella Bright, star of Prime Video’s hit romantic drama series Off Campus, has landed her first big studio feature role. She’s signed on for the female lead opposite The Black Phone‘s Mason Thames in Narcs, the new coming-of-age comedy from Sony Pictures that we announced earlier this week.
Marking the directorial debut of John Phillips, the writer behind R-rated comedies No Hard Feelings, Good Boys and Dirty Grandpa, Narcs‘ plot is being kept under wraps. Jordan & Justin Shipley, creators of the TBS comedy Wrecked, penned the script, with a rewrite by Phillips and frequent collaborator Gene Stupnitsky.
Stupnitsky is producing via Big Name Entertainment, with Robert Lamonaca exec producing for Big Name, alongside Phillips and Joseph Micucci.
Bright is a talent studios are keeping a close eye on, following the breakout success of Off Campus, an adaptation of the book series by Elle Kennedy, which attracted 36 million viewers worldwide in its first 12 days on Prime Video, thereby bringing the streamer its third most-watched series debut of all time, behind only The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Fallout. She stars opposite Belmont Cameli, whose profile is also rising, having just been tapped to star opposite Sydney Sweeney in Hollow, Sony’s adaptation of filmmaker Lindsey Anderson Beer’s forthcoming debut novel, which puts a new spin on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Off Campus was renewed for a second season ahead of its May premiere, seemingly drafting off the incredible buzz surrounding Crave/HBO Max breakout Heated Rivalry, given its similar combination of sports and romance elements.
Prior to Off Campus, Bright played a young Kate Middleton on Netflix’s The Crown and starred in the historical drama series Malory Towers. Upcoming, she’ll be seen starring alongside Finn Cole, Ben Foster, and more in the true-life wrestling drama Gable. She is repped by Accelerate, Prime Talent Media, and Myman Greenspan Fox.