Sundance Favorite 'Late Night' Getting A Wide Theatrical Release From Amazon This Summer

One of the most buzzed about titles out of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year was Late Night. Directed by Nisha Ganatra, the film stars Mindy Kaling (who also wrote and produced the movie) as a chemical plant worker who finds herself hired as the sole female writer on the all-male writing staff for a late night television show hosted by legendary British comedian Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson). The comedy was such a crowd-pleaser at Sundance that Amazon picked it up for $13 million, and they've just set it for a summer release date.

Late Night has been set for a June 7, 2019 release date this summer. That's good to hear since Amazon recently announced that they would start sending movies directly to their streaming service instead of giving them a theatrical release first. If you didn't keep up with the Sundance buzz that surrounded Late Night back in January, here's the official synopsis from the fest:

Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is a pioneer and legendary host on the late-night talk-show circuit. When she's accused of being a "woman who hates women," she puts affirmative action on the to-do list, and—presto!—Molly (Mindy Kaling) is hired as the one woman in Katherine's all-male writers' room. But Molly might be too little too late, as the formidable Katherine also faces the reality of low ratings and a network that wants to replace her. Molly, wanting to prove she's not simply a diversity hire who's disrupting the comfort of the brotherhood, is determined to help Katherine by revitalizing her show and career—and possibly effect even bigger change at the same time.

In addition to Mindy Kaling in the lead and Emma Thompson as her witty and snarky new boss, the cast also includes Reid Scott (Veep), Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Max Casella (Jackie), John Early (The Disaster Artist), and more on the writing staff. Other cast members include Ike Barinholtz, Amy Ryan and John Lithgow.

We were lucky enough to catch Late Night at Sundance, and while our own Chris Evangelista and Ben Pearson weren't impressed with it as much as the overall crowd at the festival, yours truly found a lot to love about the movie, In my review, I wrote:

"Late Night doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to showbiz comedy and drama, but the combination of a dynamite Emma Thompson and a splendid Mindy Kaling makes it stand out among the pack. It's delightful, funny, and more than satisfying. Before the year is over, this will be one of the most beloved comedies of the year."

You'll be able to see for yourself when the movie arrives in theaters this summer and eventually on Amazon Prime.