The cast of Judd Apatow's pandemic comedy is almost good enough to make it all seem less unappealing

Given the number of special pandemic reunions and TV episodes set on Zoom calls that came out earlier in the pandemic, you’d think Hollywood would be totally over the gimmick of setting things in a quarantine by now, but no, some big Hollywood people are now just getting around to this timely kind of fun. One such person is Judd Apatow, who—as we reported back in November—is making a Netflix movie about a bunch of actors trying to make a movie while stuck in a hotel during a pandemic. The idea seemed a little questionable when it was first announced, since the pandemic isn’t always super funny, but now Netflix has announced the cast for the film and, damn it, it’s really freakin’ good.

Titled The Bubble, the movie will star Karen Gillan, Fred Armisen, Maria Bakalova, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, Pedro Pascal, and Peter Serafinowicz. Leslie Mann and Iris Apatow will also be there, but it feels weird to include them in that other list when Apatow could make a movie with them without leaving his actual quarantine bubble. Apatow co-wrote the script with Lady Dynamite writer Pam Brady, and Deadline says this movie “couldn’t be more timely.” That’s a reference to the pandemic, obviously, but Pedro Pascal is also having a nice moment lately. Maybe 2021 will be the year everybody works with Pedro Pascal?