Special Correspondents: Ricky Gervais to make satirical comedy for Netflix

Ricky Gervais is to make satirical comedy Special Correspondents for Netflix that will see the star of The Office and Derek appear alongside Eric Bana.

Special Correspondents is a remake of a 2009 French film about a struggling radio journalist who files fake war reports.

Ricky Gervais will write and direct the comedy, described by Netflix’s Ted Sarandos as a “smart social satire with heart”.

Netflix’s plans to expand into film-making has already seen it sign deals with Adam Sandler, Leonardo DiCaprio and the Weinstein Company.

“Having shaken up the TV industry, Netflix is about to do the same to Hollywood,” said Ricky Gervais, whose Channel 4 series Derek was streamed by Netflix in the US.

The original Special Correspondents film starred Gerard Lanvin and Gerard Jugnot as a radio journalist and technician in Paris who pretend to report live from Iraq.

Set predominantly in New York, the new version will see Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana’s characters fake their own kidnappings during a rebel uprising in South America.

Sony Pictures acquired the rights to distribute Ricky Gervais’s remake internationally at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California in November 2014.