20th Century Studios has announced that its supernatural teen comedy Darby and the Dead, starring Riele Downs (Henry Danger), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) and more, will stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories on December 2nd.
The film formerly titled Darby Harper Wants You to Know is about a high school student who moonlights as a spiritual messenger. After suffering a near-death experience as a young girl, Darby Harper (Downs) gains the ability to see dead people. As a result, she becomes introverted and shut off from her high school peers and prefers to spend time counseling lonely spirits who have unfinished business on earth. But all that changes when Capri (Cravalho), the Queen Bee of the school’s most exclusive clique, unexpectedly dies in a freak hair straightening accident, resulting in the obvious cancellation of her upcoming “Sweet 17.”
Capri, however, pleads with Darby from the other side to intervene and convince Capri’s friends to proceed with the party as planned. In order to appease the wrath of the undead diva, Darby must emerge from her self-imposed exile and reinvent herself — which along the way allows her to find new joy back in the land of the living.
Also starring Chosen Jacobs (It), Asher Angel (Shazam!), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld), Derek Luke (13 Reasons Why) and Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss?), Darby and the Dead was directed by Emmy nominee Silas Howard (Dickinson). Becca Greene (Good Vibes) wrote the script, which was based on a story by Wenonah Wilms (Fem 101). Footprint Features’ Adam Saunders (When We First Met) and Eddie Rubin (Blue Bayou) produced, with Michele Weisler (The Kissing Booth) and Mac Hendrickson serving as executive producers.