Netflix Buys Eric Andre-Lil Rel Howery Comedy ‘Bad Trip’ From Orion

Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to the Eric Andre-Lil Rel Howery hidden-camera prank comedy “Bad Trip” from MGM’s Orion Pictures.

The deal was announced Wednesday, nearly a month after “Bad Trip” was released briefly through Amazon Prime Video, then withdrawn. “Bad Trip,” which was originally supposed to debut at the SXSW Film Festival before it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, was available for long enough on April 17 to be placed on the download site Pirate Bay.

The movie comes from “Jackass” producer Jeff Tremaine. “Bad Trip” follows two best friends on a cross-country road trip full of pranks, pulling its real-life audience into the action. Tiffany Haddish and Michaela Conlin also star.

The film is directed by Kitao Sakurai, who worked with Andre previously on his Adult Swim series “The Eric Andre Show,” and produced by David Bernad (“The Mule”), Andre, Ruben Fleischer (“Venom”) and Tremaine. Orion had announced in January that it had set an Oct. 25 domestic release for the comedy.

Netflix did not indicate when it will release “Bad Trip,” which joins a growing list of movies that were originally slated for theatrical release, but then opted for a digital debut after the coronavirus pandemic resulted in most U.S. movie theaters remaining closed until July at the earliest. That list includes “Trolls World Tour,” “The King of Staten Island,” “The Lovebirds,” “Artemis Fowl” and “My Spy.” Warner Bros. is releasing “Scoob,” a cartoon based on Scooby-Doo characters, directly on digital rental services on Friday.