Ashley Park, Leighton Meester & Taylor John Smith Set For Comedy ‘Basic’ From Chelsea Devantez; Marc Platt & BuzzFeed Studios Among Producers

EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Park (Joyride), Leighton Meester (I Love LA), and Taylor John Smith (Warfare) have wrapped lead roles in Basic, an indie comedy marking the feature debut of writer-director Chelsea Devantez.

Based on Devantez’s award-winning 2020 short film of the same name, which was a SXSW official selection and won Best Comedy at the HollyShorts Film Festival, Basic follows Gloria (Park) and Nick (Smith), who go through a painful breakup. Gloria then spirals through Nick’s past dating history, untangling his web of ex-girlfriends until she discovers the reason for all their issues: Kaylinn (Meester), the hottest, most basic ex-girlfriend to ever exist, who not only just took Gloria’s boyfriend, but is about to take her entire story from her, too.

Presented by Marc Platt Productions (upcoming Wicked: For Good, How to Train Your Dragon), BuzzFeed Studios (Puppy Love, Fall), Fortitude International (My Penguin Friend, Backspot), Caliwood Pictures (Goodrich, upcoming Killing Castro), and 100 Zeros, the film also stars Ashley Nicole Black (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Kandy Muse (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Nelson Franklin (Veep), Kenzie Elizabeth (Easy), and Kate Linder (The Young and the Restless).

Marc Platt, Katie McNicol and Adam Siegel produced for Marc Platt Productions, alongside Nadine DeBarros for Fortitude International, and Michael Philip and Richard Alan Reid on behalf of BuzzFeed Studios. Exec producers are Devantez; Rachel Douglas and Casey Durant of 100 Zeroes; Jordan Moncada; R Wesley Sierk III of Caliwood Pictures; Lucas Jarach; Sandra Siegal; Park; and Meester. Fortitude International and BuzzFeed Studios are handling worldwide sales.

In a statement to Deadline, producer Platt said, “Chelsea is a singular creative force—sharply funny, fearless, and full of heart. Her vision brilliantly captures how we engage with, judge ourselves and others, and are consumed by social media. With our stellar cast—Ashley Park, Leighton Meester, and Taylor John Smith—she’s created a sharply human, character-driven story that’s as hilarious as it is timely.”

An Emmy-nominated writer, bestselling author, comedian, and director, Devantez was formerly Head Writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ and developed multiple shows under an overall television deal with 20th Century Fox. Additional writing credits include Girls5Eva, Not Dead Yet, and Bless This Mess, to name a few. Her debut memoir, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This (but I’m Going To Anyway), was published by HarperCollins’ Hanover Square Press and became a national bestseller. Also known for hosting the podcast Glamorous Trash, with over six million downloads to date, she is repped by UTA and Moncada of Glamorous Trash.

Known for roles in projects like Emily in Paris, Girls5Eva, 2024’s Mean Girls Reboot, Only Murders in the Building, Beef and Joy Ride, Park is represented by CAA and Jackoway Austen.

Seen on shows like Gossip Girl, Single Parents and The CW’s Good Cop/Bad Cop, Meester’s recent film credits include EXmas and a reimagining of the thriller River Wild. Upcoming, she’ll be seen in Rachel Sennott’s HBO series I Love LA and the second season of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This. She is repped by UTA.

Seen in A24’s Warfare, Sony’s Where the Crawdads Sing and HBO’s Sharp Objects, Smith is repped by CAA and Joey Stanton of Vybe Trybe.