| Creator: | Brian Metcalf |
| Showrunner: | Brian Metcalf |
| Narrator: | Jaret Reddick |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
| Camera: | Single-camera |
| Network: | Tubi |
Underdeveloped (stylized as UnderDeveloped) is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Brian Metcalf. The show follows multiple inexperienced and failed producers who are forced to work with each other at Bottom Slackers, a film studio. The show's main cast consists of Metcalf, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Kelly Arjen, Tom Arnold, Mark Pellegrino, David Henrie, David Koechner, Samm Levine, Shelley Regner, and Lulu Jovovich. Jaret Reddick serves as narrator.
The series was shot in December 2022 and released on Tubi on September 7, 2023. The show received generally positive reviews, with praise for the performances of the cast.[1]
On December 13, 2022, it was announced that Brian Metcalf was developing and executive producing a limited series titled Underdeveloped under his Black Jellybeans Productions banner. Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tom Arnold, Mark Pellegrino, Samm Levine, Shelley Regner, Kelly Arjen, Charlene Amoia, Nolan River and Jaret Reddick were announced as cast members, with Nicholas also serving as an executive producer.[2] [3] The 6-episode series was also shot in December.[4]
On July 25, 2023, Buffalo 8 Productions acquired Underdeveloped. The series was announced to be premiering on Tubi, an ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation, on September 8 of that year.[5] [6]
On July 5, 2023, the cast and crew of Underdeveloped held a panel at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con.[7] On August 11, a trailer for the series premiered on the Entertainment Weekly website.[8] Despite the ongoing 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, the cast and producers of Underdeveloped were able to promote the show due to it being an independent production. The show was granted a waiver by SAG-AFTRA.[9]
The series premiered in Los Angeles on September 5, 2023, and was released to the public on ad-supported Tubi on September 7, a day earlier than its scheduled release date. All six episodes were released at once.[10] [11] It was also released on Freevee, another ad-supported service owned by Amazon.
On December 20, 2023, all six episodes were compiled as a singular feature film for cable TV. The film was released on Spectrum, Xfinity, and Cox.[12]
Alan Ng of Film Threat gave the series a positive review, praising the performances of the veteran cast members and the show's humor.[13] Danielle Solzman of Solzy at the Movies also gave the show a positive review, praising Metcalf's direction.[14] Martin Carr of CBR praised the series' writing, cast performances, and production design.[15]
Stephanie Morgan of Common Sense Media gave the series a highly negative review, criticizing the show's mean-spirited humor, writing, and characters.[16]