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Fresh off his Emmy-winning HBO series ‘Barry,’ Bill Hader has set plans to write, direct, and star in ‘They Know,’ a new horror film for MRC that’s slated to begin production in Los Angeles this spring. It marks his first directorial project since wrapping the acclaimed dark comedy.

The film follows a divorced father (played by Hader) who begins to suspect his ex-wife is secretly dating a mysterious man — one whose unsettling influence over their children raises increasingly disturbing questions.

With ‘They Know,’ Hader joins a wave of comedy heavyweights successfully pivoting into horror, following in the footsteps of filmmakers like Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, and most recently Curry Barker.

MRC is financing the project, which is based on an original story Hader created with his Barry collaborator Duffy Boudreau. Hader and Bob Graf will produce under Hader’s Hanarply banner, with Alyssa Donovan co-producing.

Hader’s work on ‘Barry’ — the tragicomic tale of a hitman attempting to reinvent himself as an actor while his violent past closes in — cemented his reputation as a multi-hyphenate force. Over the show’s run, he picked up three DGA Awards along with multiple Emmys and Critics Choice Awards. Hader co-created the series with Alec Berg and wore nearly every hat on the production, serving as co-showrunner, executive producer, writer, director, and star.

Before that, he rose to fame as a longtime standout on Saturday Night Live and has appeared in films including ‘Trainwreck,’ ‘Superbad,’ ‘The Skeleton Twins,’ and ‘IT: Chapter Two.’ Up next, he’ll lend his voice to Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ arriving in theaters November 6.

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