Duplass Brothers Sign Spotify Exclusive Podcast Development Deal

Todd Spangler
·3 min read

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Spotify pacted with Mark and Jay Duplass for the brothers’ first crack at podcasts.

Under the development deal, the indie filmmakers, producers and actors will create exclusive original programming for Spotify — both scripted and unscripted podcast series — under their Duplass Brothers Productions banner.

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Details of specific projects they have cooking for Spotify are under wraps right now. The Duplass Brothers are the brains behind offbeat movies and TV shows including HBO’s “Room 104” and “Togetherness” and Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country.”

“We are incredibly excited to partner with Spotify for our first foray into podcasting,” Mark and Jay Duplass said in a statement. “Also terrified because making a truly engaging narrative podcast seems really, really difficult. Was this a mistake? Maybe we should pull out of this deal before they announce?”

The Duplass Brothers are the latest partner for Spotify’s expanding roster of diversified podcasts. That includes deals with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions — with the former First Couple kicking off the premiere of Michelle’s first podcast for Spotify this week — Joe Rogan’s “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Kim Kardashian West, Warner Bros. and DC Comics, Archie Comics and digital influencers Lele Pons and Addison Rae. All of Spotify’s original podcasts are available to both free listeners and premium subscribers.

“As Spotify continues to partner with unique and iconic storytellers, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Mark and Jay Duplass,” said Liz Gateley, Spotify’s head of network programming. “They are so creatively versatile that we’re confident they’ll figure this podcasting thing out.”

Duplass Brothers Productions is led by the two siblings alongside producer Mel Eslyn. The trio have created a number of award-winning projects spanning film, TV, documentaries and short-form content.

In film, Mark and Jay Duplass first gained recognition in the early 2000s for writing, directing and producing films including “The Puffy Chair,” “Baghead,” “Cyrus” and “Jeff, Who Lives at Home.” Since then, DBP’s feature film producing credits have included “Safety Not Guaranteed,” “Blue Jay,” “Outside In,” the “Creep” franchise, “Blue Jay,” “Tangerine” and “Paddleton.”

DBP’s TV productions have included HBO’s “Room 104,” “Togetherness,” and animated series “Animals,” which ran for three seasons. The Duplass Brothers’ best-known documentary project is Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country,” winner of the 2018 Emmy for documentary or nonfiction series. DBP also produced “Evil Genius” for Netflix and “On Tour with Asperger’s Are Us” for HBO.

Both of the brothers also have taken turns in front of the camera. Mark Duplass is a series regular on Apple TV Plus’ “The Morning Show,” and Jay starred in all four seasons of Amazon’s “Transparent” as well as the series-finale movie.

The Duplass Brothers are repped by ICM Partners and Paul Anderson of Workhouse Media.

Pictured above: Mark Duplass (l.), Jay Duplass

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