Jesse Tyler Ferguson will direct and produce a musical comedy microseries called Theater Kids vs. Zombies for aTwist, a new streaming platform preparing to launch later in summer 2026, according to Deadline.

The premise blends two worlds that rarely meet on screen. When zombies attack a high school, a group of theatre kids must stage a musical to survive the apocalypse. Ferguson is producing alongside Justin Mikita, his husband and a producer on the Broadway musical revival Cats: The Jellicle Ball.

The cast features Kadyn Kozminski, Jeff Lawless, Amanda Drewes, John Woods III and Danielle Judovits. Behind the camera, the creative team includes choreographer Jamal Sims and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Shane McAnally, Deadline reported.

A microseries — short-form episodes designed for vertical or mobile viewing — is a format that has grown rapidly across platforms like TikTok, ReelShort and similar services, where audiences watch storytelling in bites of a minute or two rather than half-hour sittings. aTwist is betting that the format can carry the production polish of traditional television.

The platform behind the project has serious industry pedigree. aTwist was founded by three former senior executives: Jana Winograde, former President of Showtime, as CEO; Susan Rovner, former Chairman of NBCU Content and President of Warner Bros TV, as chief creative officer; and Lloyd Braun, former chairman of ABC and WME, as executive chairman. All three are named in Deadline's report.

For Ferguson, best known to audiences as Mitchell Pritchett on eleven seasons of Modern Family, the project adds a directing credit to a career that has already spanned Broadway stage work and television production. Mikita's involvement brings a theatre producer's eye to a show whose plot turns on the act of putting on a show.

What gives Theater Kids vs. Zombies its shape is the creative team's grounding in both musical theatre and screen production. Sims's choreography credits include film and television work, while McAnally is a country and pop songwriter with multiple Grammy wins. The combination suggests a microseries aiming for full musical numbers inside a format that usually runs on dialogue and quick cuts.

aTwist has not yet announced a specific launch date within the summer 2026 window, nor released episode counts or runtimes for Theater Kids vs. Zombies. The platform's broader slate is still being assembled.