Jake Johnson’s The Dink leads a packed post-New Girl run
Jake Johnson stars in The Dink on Apple TV+ while juggling three TV projects and speaking bluntly about residuals.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Jake Johnson’s The Dink arrives July 24 on Apple TV+, putting the New Girl star at the center of a pickleball comedy while his calendar is already stacked with three TV projects, according to Variety.
The run includes Apple TV+ thriller Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed opposite Tatiana Maslany, NBC’s upcoming L.A. private-eye comedy Sunset P.I., and Hulu pilot Cable Guy, which takes inspiration from the Jim Carrey movie. Johnson also has three films due this year, with The Dink first up.
What is Jake Johnson's The Dink about?
Directed by Josh Greenbaum, The Dink follows Dusty Boyd, played by Johnson, a fading tennis pro working at his father’s country club. Ed Harris plays the father, while Andy Roddick appears as himself as the old rival tied to Dusty’s teenage claim to fame.
The story pushes Dusty into a pickleball group made up of older women. He develops feelings for the group’s leader, played by Mary Steenburgen, before a showdown involving Roddick puts the club’s future in play, Variety reported.
The cast also includes Chloe Fineman, Patton Oswalt, Fortune Feimster, Chris Parnell, Ben Stiller and Aaron Chen. Johnson told Variety he was not into pickleball or tennis before the movie, but he trained with tennis coach Brad Gilbert for the part.
Johnson said the film began with writer Sean Clements, a friend and poker pal, after the actor said he wanted to make a broad comedy with set pieces, jokes and heart. Johnson said Stiller joined as a producer and also volunteered to appear in the movie. Apple came aboard after the independently financed film had been shot and screened in Hollywood, Johnson told Variety.
Johnson says the streaming era changed the money
The actor also reflected on New Girl, which is marking its 15th anniversary. Johnson described the Fox sitcom as life-changing and said the cast remains in a group text, with creator Liz Meriwether messaging them the night before his Variety interview.
Johnson said he and his castmates did well from the show, but he also said the old network-era fortune from residuals has changed. He told Variety the larger residual checks of the past came with tighter contract limits, while the current business gives him more room to take multiple jobs and make independent projects.
He made the same point while discussing Let’s Be Cops, the 2014 film he starred in with Damon Wayans Jr. Johnson said the movie made $130 million on a $17 million budget, but he and Wayans did not receive the kind of payday he expected from its success.
Johnson told Variety that experience pushed him to focus on ownership and producing, even on smaller projects, rather than only appearing in studio-backed films where he does not share in the upside.
What is Jake Johnson doing next?
Johnson said the new Cable Guy pilot reunites him with Wayans and has Jonathan Krisel directing. He said the project is not a remake, but a fresh take inspired by the 1996 film, and that Judd Apatow and Jim Carrey are not involved, though the team reached out to them.
He also discussed Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, praising Maslany’s unpredictable energy on set and saying he would work with the team again, while adding he does not know where his character would go if the show continues.
One more Johnson detail from the Variety interview: Tom Cruise, his The Mummy co-star, still sends him an annual holiday treat. Johnson said Cruise switched from the famous coconut cake because of Johnson’s dairy issue and now sends a gingerbread house with his children’s names on it.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.