'Unfrosted' Co-Writer Spike Feresten Says 'All Roads Led to SNL' When Casting 'Our Favorite Funny People' (Exclusive)

'Unfrosted,' co-written and directed by Jerry Seinfeld, is available to stream only on Netflix.

By Stephen Andrew

Netflix's newest movie, Unfrosted, is a laugh-out-loud flick starring some of the biggest names in comedy, including a number of Saturday Night Live cast members past and present. PopCulture.com recently had a chance to chat with Unfrosted co-writer/producer Spike Feresten, who told us that when they were considering cast members, "all roads led to SNL."

Among the many Saturday Night Live cast members and alumni who appear in Unfrosted are Mikey Day, Bobby Moynihan, Beck Bennett, Fred Armisen, and Kyle Mooney, whom Ferensten says he "absolutely" loves. "We were looking for our favorite funny people," the acclaimed comedy writer said, adding, "Over and over again all roads led to SNL."

"Let me tell you what was really great about them on set," Ferensten continued, "I did this to Mikey and to Kyle and to Bobby, after an action I whispered a note in their ear. 'Hey, do it like this.' And they would go bang, just like that and nail it."

"I mean, they have such chops,' Ferensten went on to say. "I was really in awe of it... They're just funny all day long and so quick. It's nothing but admiration for those guys and girls."

The outlandish new film takes place in Michigan in 1963 and hilariously depicts "Kellogg's and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever." The main cast includes Jerry Seinfeld, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Max Greenfield, Hugh Grant and Amy Schumer.

In addition to co-writing and starring in Unfrosted, Seinfeld also directed the movie. We asked Ferensten about ad-libbing during filming, and he explained that they didn't necessarily leave space for improvisation in the script, but that "Jerry, as a director, left room for it."

"Jerry likes things as written, and we would shoot it that way. Then, Melissa McCarthy would go, 'OK, now I want to do some of my stuff.' She would do three takes and she'd nail a bunch of new lines we hadn't thought of."

Ferensten specifically pointed to performances from Tony Hale, James Marsden and comedic actor Kyle Dunnigan — who portrays Walter Cronkite in the film — as some that really stood out. "I remember that, sitting with Jerry and we were just like, 'Just talk for a little while about what's going on at home,' and [Dunnigan] improvised pretty much that whole story about his drinking issues with his wife, and none of that was in the script. We were just dying."

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(Photo: John P. Johnson/Netflix)

While there are certainly spoof-like elements about Unfrosted, Ferensten made it clear, "It's absolutely not a parody of biopics, but it looks that way." He clarified, "Early on, we did set out to not make a biopic story of the Pop-Tart. None of us found that interesting. It's not what we do. What we do is what we did on Seinfeld. We write Seinfeld episodes, occasionally we talk about brands like the Yankees or Tyson Chicken or any number of brands. This movie totally, really, is like a Seinfeld episode with a big budget and big casting."

Unfrosted ended up with some major stars on board — such as McCarthy and Gaffigan — but Ferensten says that wasn't necessarily the plan. "We kind of were thinking about people as we were writing," he said, "but the only thing we did know is, 'Why don't we try and work with our favorite funny people?' That was really important to Jerry. He goes, 'Look, I just want to get my favorite funny people together, whoever that might be. Super famous or not, just the people I love, and I'd like to put them in the movie.'"

"It's really interesting because we had so much fun making this movie and so much fun writing it," Ferensten continued, "if some of that is coming across in the film, that's fantastic, because there really was just a lot of love for comedy and a lot of good times on set and a lot of good times on the Zooms writing with the guys. It was fun from top to bottom, this one."

Seinfeld's feature directorial debut is deliciously outlandish and so hilariously sweet that you'll need a glass of milk afterward. Sprinkled with scene-stealing performances, the film is fondly reminiscent of Mel Brooks in his heyday. Unfrosted is now streaming, only on Netflix.

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