Deep Cover Is A Comedy About Improv With ‘The Frisson Of A Super-Serious Crime Drama’

There are key skills to improv comedy. You have to fly by the seat of your pants, react in the moment, stay present, and remain in character, no matter what scenario is thrown at you. Those same rules apply to the remit of an undercover cop. Enter Deep Cover, an upcoming crime comedy in which three improv comedians are recruited by the police as undercover operatives. It was a project’ yes, and’-ed into existence by an unlikely crew of collaborators – an idea originated by Colin ‘Jurassic World’ Trevorrow, penned by British comedy duo The Pin (aka Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen), and directed by Stath Lets Flats’ Tom Kingsley. And it boasts major star power, with its central comedians played by Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed.

Together, the trio embody different levels of improv talent. “Nick’s character is very much our audience's way in,” co-writer Owen explains to Empire on set. “He’s a guy who's downtrodden at work. He's disrespected. He can’t make friends. He just goes to improv class as a way to gain some confidence and people skills. Orlando’s character is a super-intense method actor who’s using improv as a tool to develop characterisation and stay sharp. And Bryce’s character is the teacher of the improv class. So you've got three radically different approaches and levels of experience and priorities.”

While Trevorrow is best known for his dino mega-blockbusters, the idea for Deep Cover arose with his writing partner Derek Connolly in 2011. “I'm more of a comedy nerd than a comedy stylist,” he says, having dabbled in stand-up in his younger years. Plus, he saw the greats in action. “I was an intern at SNL in my freshman year in college,” Trevorrow recalls. “That was Will Ferrell's first year. It was amazing.”

If the feeling of Deep Cover is comedy, the look of the film is harder-edged. “We're shooting it like a serious, dramatic crime thriller,” says Trevorrow. “Visually, we're trying not to play it like a comedy.” As Owen puts it, the film should still have "the frisson of a super-serious crime drama”. Part of that grounding is shooting in London, where the film is set. “We're shooting on location, trying to find grittier parts of London, to see our characters walking around in London streets, in real traffic,” says director Kingsley.

But just as the three agents are comedians under those tough criminal exteriors, Deep Cover is all about the laughs at its core. “When we get to see Nick Mohammed snort three lines of coke in a row, you will be entertained,” Trevorrow promises. Line it up.

Read more from Empire’s Deep Cover set visit in the Thunderbolts* issue – on sale Thursday 13 March. Pre-order a copy online here. Deep Cover comes to Prime Video from 12 June.