Disney Picks Up Fairy-Tale Comedy ‘Happily Ever After’ for Reese Witherspoon (Exclusive)

Disney is taking a comedic look at the fairy-tale genre.
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The studio has picked up Happily Ever After, a pitch from Nahnatchka Khan, the creator of Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, that has Reese Witherspoon attached to star.

Witherspoon is also on board to produce with her Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea. John Jacobs of Smart Entertainment is also producing.

The idea is to catch up with a prince and princess about 10 years after they have ridden off into the sunset for their “happily ever after.” The couple discovers that even in fairy-tale land, you have to work to keep your relationship and your life together.

The studio’s Kristin Burr and Erin Westerman will oversee the project.

The Happily deal was two years in the making

The idea for it was generated by at Smart Entertainment’s head of production, Zac Unterman. Jacobs and Unterman approached Khan with the idea; they knew the writer from working on American Dad for many years. The three developed together into a great pitch, which they then took to Witherspoon. After some more honing, they then took it to Burr and Westerman who sparked to it and set the project up.

Unterman will act as an exec producer.

Happily brings Witherspoon back into the fold of the studio that made her 2002 hit romantic comedy, Sweet Home Alabama. The actress is in pre-production on Wild, Fox Searchlight’s adaptation of the Cheryl Strayed memoir. (Witherspoon is starring and producing via Pacific Standard the Jean-Marc Vallee drama.)

Khan worked on American Dad! as a writer and executive story editor before going on to create Apartment 23, the ABC comedy that starred Krysten Ritter. She is also writing and executive producing an animated untitled Russell Brand project for FOX.

Smart was a producer on Beverly Hills Chihuahua for Disney and is involved with the sequel to Ted, Seth McFarlane’s hit comedy, and Blumhouse’s new thriller, The Boy Next Door, starring Jennifer Lopez.

Witherspoon is repped by CAA, LBI Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson. Khan is repped by WME.

– THR