General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

The Now

The Now is an American dark comedy streaming series created by Peter Farrelly, Pete Jones, and Steve Leff, in which Ed Poole, played by Dave Franco, resolves to change his life upon discovering that two members of his immediate family before him have been suicidal.¹ It premiered on The Roku Channel on December 10, 2021, as a Roku Original, and consists of one season of 14 episodes of roughly 10 minutes each.²^•³ The series was originally produced for the short-lived mobile service Quibi and reached viewers only after Roku acquired Quibi's content library.⁴

Key fact	Detail
Format	Scripted dark comedy, 1 season, 14 episodes, about 10 minutes per episode, rated TV-MA³^•¹
Premiere	December 10, 2021, exclusively on The Roku Channel, free with ads in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.²
Creators	Peter Farrelly, Pete Jones, and Steve Leff; directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly³^•⁵
Lead cast	Dave Franco as Ed Poole, with Bill Murray as Dr. Robert Flaherty and Daryl Hannah as Maxine Poole³
Origin	Originally produced for Quibi; released as a Roku Original after Roku acquired Quibi's library in January 2021⁴
Status	Ended after one season; the show was not renewed⁵
Reception	6.8/10 on IMDb from about 845 votes¹

Spoilers

Premise

Ed Poole is prevented from taking his own life by the news that his brother has killed himself first. Because his father had also died by suicide years earlier, and because losing two sons would devastate his mother Maxine, Ed sets out to discover how to live in "The Now" and find new meaning in his life.⁵ The Roku press release framed the series around the same idea: Peter Farrelly said he "wanted to make a show about living in the present because I personally have lived too much in the future and the past."²

The season runs from a first episode titled "Call From…Mother" to a finale, "Not Now," in which Ed, after a change of heart, sees things clearly for the first time in his life and makes a major decision based on his new priorities.⁶^•³ All 14 episodes carried the same December 10, 2021 airdate because the season was released in full on launch day.⁶

Cast and production

The series stars Dave Franco as Ed Poole, Daryl Hannah as his mother Maxine Poole, O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Coop, Jimmy Tatro as Hal, Bill Murray as Dr. Robert Flaherty, Pete Davidson as Adam, and Lex Scott Davis as Kendra; Alyssa Milano plays Sarah.³^•⁵ Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly directed, with Pete Jones and Steve Leff sharing writing credits and Steve Golin and Jeff Okin serving as executive producers.⁵ The production company was Anonymous Content, and filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.¹

From Quibi to Roku

The Now belongs to a specific chapter of streaming history. Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's mobile-first short-form service, launched in April 2020 with episodes typically under 10 minutes, announced its shutdown on October 21, 2020, and wound down soon after.⁷ On January 8, 2021, Roku announced it was acquiring the rights to Quibi's library of 75 original shows, a deal the Wall Street Journal reported at significantly below $100 million, to run free on its ad-supported Roku Channel.⁸^•⁹

The Now was one of the titles that made this journey. Billed as a Roku Original despite having been produced for Quibi, it premiered on The Roku Channel on December 10, 2021, with all 14 episodes available free at launch to viewers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.⁴^•² Its 10-minute episodes reflect the Quibi format for which it was commissioned, and it remains streamable free with ads on The Roku Channel.¹⁰

Reception and afterlife

The series holds a 6.8/10 rating on IMDb from about 845 user votes.¹ It was not renewed; the show ended after its single season of 14 episodes.⁵ For Peter Farrelly, an Academy Award winner for Green Book, the series sits alongside his later feature The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) in his television and streaming work.¹¹

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 2020s cable and streaming comedies

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

Notice something wrong?