Kate Berlant and John Early Join Universal's Holiday Comedy Naughty

Kate Berlant and John Early have joined the cast of Naughty, a holiday comedy from Universal, according to Deadline. The pair are joining a film already built around a big name, with Jennifer Aniston leading as Mallory.

Peter Dinklage plays Santa Claus. The cast also includes Chase Sui Wonders, Regina Hall, Ike Barinholtz and Samara Weaving. Each of them has a separate deal with the studio, so the list is still taking shape as production moves forward.

Olivia Wilde directs the film from a script by Jimmy Warden, who wrote it. LuckyChap is producing alongside Wilde and Warden. A production company is the firm that puts a film together, hires the crew and manages the budget.

Berlant and Early are known to many viewers from their work together on the Peacock sketch special Would It Kill You to Laugh?. Peacock is the streaming service run by NBC, and a sketch special is a show built from short comedy scenes. The special earned both of them nominations for an Emmy and a Critics Choice Award.

Universal has set Naughty for theatrical release on November 5, 2027. A theatrical release means the film opens in cinemas. That date sits in the run-up to the winter holidays, a window the studio has chosen for a film with a seasonal theme.

Casting news more than a year before a film reaches cinemas is a useful marker of how the project is taking shape. Each name added to the list is a decision that a studio, a producer and an agent have agreed on.