‘(Future) Cult Classic’: Justin Bartha & Geoffrey Owens Cast In Syfy Pilot

Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Geoffrey Owens have joined the ensemble cast of Syfy’s dark comedy pilot (Future) Cult Classic from Shay Hatten (Ballerina), Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and Universal Content Productions.

Written by Hatten, (Future) Cult Classic combines the genres of slasher films, high school drama and speculative satire. Set 18 years in the future, it revolves around a group of teens whose community is rocked by a serial killer who’s obsessed with 1990s slasher movies. Our heroes quickly realize they’re being targeted and decide to take matters into their own hands and track down the killer — before time runs out.

Bartha will play Jeff, Bree’s (Emily Alyn Lind) father, a formerly successful true-crime novelist whose career has dried up now that murder has been virtually eradicated. What’s good for society has been bad for him and his family — and leaves him in a desperate place despite his outwardly spirited demeanor.

Owens will portray Detective Moscovitz, an old-school cop who finds himself out of his element in a tech-based society. He may be a little rusty, but his instincts quickly return when the string of murders begins to rock the community.

Tim Kirkby (Veep) will executive produce and direct the pilot. Broadway Video executive produces.

Bartha, known for The Hangover trilogy and National Treasure movies, most recently was seen in Nick Hamm’s Driven, opposite Jason Sudeikis and Corey Stoll, and Collin Friesen’s Sorry for Your Loss. On TV he recently appeared in The Good Fight and in Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal. He’s repped by CAA and MGMT Entertainment.

Owens next will be seen in Deon Taylor’s noir thriller Fatale, opposite Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy, and Hide and Seek, opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers. In television, he can be seen in a recurring role in On Becoming a God in Central Florida and upcoming on Billions and in an arc on Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots. Owens is repped by Semler Entertainment, Singular Talent and Meyer & Downs.