Netflix Picks Up ‘I Suck at Girls’ Based on Justin Halpern Autobiography

Netflix has greenlit a new comedy series based on Justin Halpern’s autobiography of a period spent fumbling his way through relationships with the opposite sex, I Suck at Girls.

The show, which will focus on the experiences of three high school sophomores as they confront romance and coming of age, will be showrun, written and executive produced by Halpern and his creative partner Patrick Schumacker for their Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions.

Halpern and Schumacker are co-showrunners and executive producers on ABC’s Abbott Elementary and play the same roles on Max’s Harley Quinn.

“I’m incredibly excited to make a show that can hopefully capture the funny, emotional and oftentimes humiliating experience of growing up. As opposed to just the emotional and humiliating experience of my life as an adult,” Halpern said in a statement about the series.

The comedy series will star Kayo Martin (The Plague) as Steven, Jeremy Ray Taylor (It, Big Sky) as Garrett and Laila Pruitt (BMF, Will Trent) as Anna.

I Suck at Girls will be executive produced by mega-producer Bill Lawrence (whose credits include Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and Shrinking), Jeff Ingold, and Liza Katzer for Doozer Productions and Chet Dave for Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions.

Warner Bros. Television, where Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions and Doozer Productions have an overall deal, will serve as the studio for the series.

Halpern’s book has been the subject of a television series before, having inspired the 2014 Fox sitcom Surviving Jack, which starred Christopher Meloni and was canceled after one season.

This adaptation will seemingly focus more on the experiences of high-schoolers than on the tough-love wisdom of Halpern’s dad amid his relationships concerns, which was a theme in I Suck at Girls.

Netflix’s vp of U.S. comedy series, Tracey Pakosta, said in a statement that Halpern, Schumacker and Lawrence “have a rare ability to turn deeply personal, unconventional ideas into culture-defining series that are sharp, funny, and deeply human.” She added, “This show captures universal truths about life and relationships with authentic heart and humor, we believe it’s a story audiences will genuinely love and connect with.”