Black Bear Buys Mother-Daughter Dating Comedy From Alla and Masino

Black Bear has bought an untitled comedy about a mother and daughter who accidentally date the same man.

Variety reported the acquisition exclusively on 13 October 2026, according to Variety. The script comes from writing partners Cassidy Alla and Read Masino.

The official logline is brief and deliberately awkward. A mother and daughter discover they are seeing the same man. The wider family is then left to cope with the fallout.

The deal is for a spec script. That is trade shorthand for a screenplay written without a studio order, then offered on the open market for buyers to pick up. For writers, a spec sale can be a calling card. It establishes their voice and often leads to further writing and production work.

Alla and Masino met while working as assistants at Apatow Productions. That office is a well-worn training ground for comedy writers, where assistants read scripts, sit in on meetings and learn how jokes are shaped into films. The two have continued to write as a team since leaving those desks.

They already have another feature in development at Netflix. Berlanti/Schechter, the production company behind a long run of film and television, is producing that project. Nahnatchka Khan is attached to direct, Variety reported.

At Black Bear, Michael Heimler serves as Partner, President of Production & Operations. The company launched its own distribution arm in 2025. In plain terms, that means Black Bear can now release films itself in cinemas, in addition to financing and producing them and selling international rights.

On the business side, Alla is represented by UTA and Mosaic. Masino is represented by UTA and Artists First. Agents and managers handle negotiations, find new assignments and help guide a writer’s career between projects.

What makes this stand out is the simplicity of the set-up. One secret. Two generations. Nowhere to hide. It is the kind of premise that lives or dies on character and timing, familiar to fans of favourite family comedies.

No cast or director has been announced for the Black Bear project. The next steps are development as usual: a draft shaped for production, film-makers attached and a release plan to follow.