Ben Stiller’s Latest Apple TV+ Project is a Tribute to His Famous Parents

Ben Stiller is working on a film project that is near and dear to his heart. The actor and producer has partnered with Apple Original Films for a documentary about his legendary parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller and his sister, Amy, will speak about their parents' legacy and their 61-year marriage in the film.

A teaser posted by Apple TV+ announced, “Ben Stiller opens up about his legendary parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, in a deeply personal portrait of humor, heart and heritage. Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost — In Select Theaters October 17, Streaming on Apple TV+ October 24."

Stiller posted to X to add, “This is a film I’ve been working on for a while. It is coming out Oct. 17th. It’s about (our) family and parents and kids and creativity and other stuff too.”

In a statement to Gold Derby, the Severeance director said, “I feel very fortunate to be partnering once again with the incredible team at Apple TV+, this time on a project that is very personal to me and my family. It’s exciting to finally get to share it with audiences; and a great honor to celebrate my parents, both as I knew them growing up, and as I’ve come to know them in new ways through the making of this film."

Ben Stiller's parents became household names in the 1950s and ‘60s with their Stiller and Meara comedy act. The comedy duo broke up their act to save their marriage

“I love Anne, but if I had depended on her in my professional life, I would have lost her as a wife. We felt like two guys,” Jerry Stiller once told People magazine in an interview.

“I didn’t know where the act ended and our marriage began," Meara added.

While they tried to do a sitcom together with a 1986 NBC sitcom pilot, over the years, the couple had very successful separate film and TV careers. Meara was regular on the ‘70s sitcoms Rhoda and Archie Bunker's Place, and Stiller logged long runs on the shows Seinfeld and The King of Queens in the 1990s, the latter of which featured cameos by all of the Stillers over its nine-season run.

Anne Meara died in 2015, while Jerry Stiller died in 2020.

Related: Kevin James Says He Would ‘Never Say No’ to a ‘King of Queens’ Reboot