Ben Berman, a veteran comedy director and writer, previously debuted his short films I’m a Mitzvah (starring Parks & Recreation‘s Ben Schwartz) at Sundance in 2014 and How to Lose Weight in 4 Easy Steps starring Beck Bennett in 2016. Berman’s surprising, unorthodox film begins as a documentary about “The Amazing Johnathan,” a uniquely deranged magician who built a career out of shock and deception in the 1980s – but becomes a bizarre story about the unravelling of his documentarian.

Hulu acquired the rights to Ben Berman’s feature debut Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary in a competitive situation following its world premiere in the US Documentary Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.