Joel McHale to Star in New Short Film From 'Open Door' Director Kevin Cate

Joel McHale will star in the next short film from director Kevin Cate, the pair confirmed in a collaborative announcement video posted Oct. 23. No plot details, title or release date have been disclosed. McHale's casting is the only confirmed element of the project.

Who is making the film?

Cate will reunite with the core creative team behind his three most recent shorts: "Open Door," "Birthday Flight" and "Unbearable Christmas." The projects run under his Clinging Vine Films banner. The track record gives the new collaboration a measurable commercial baseline.

Cate's 2023 sci-fi short "Open Door" drew more than 33 million views across YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram — an audience larger than the population of Texas, reached without a theatrical release. The film is now set for adaptation into a feature.

His latest short, "Birthday Flight," premiered in September. It follows a man who dozes off on a plane and wakes to find it empty. The film has already passed one million views across platforms.

What else is on Cate's slate?

Cate is directing his first feature, "Unbearable Christmas." The cast includes Julia Stiles, Alex Moffat, David Cross and Stephen Root. The film continues the director's shift from viral shorts into longer-form work, with the "Open Door" feature adaptation also in development.

The takeaway: Cate is scaling up from three-minute virality to full-length filmmaking, and the McHale short sits at the pivot point.

What does McHale bring?

McHale currently hosts and appears across several series, including "The 1% Club," "House of Villains" and "Crime Scene Kitchen." He stars in the Fox sitcom "Animal Control," now in its fifth season. He previously hosted the clip show "The Soup" and led the sitcom "Community."

His film work this year includes "Scream 7" and the satire "Stop! That! Train!" Earlier credits span "Spider-Man 2," "Ted," "Becky" and "Blended."

The pairing pairs a broadcast-scale comedic presence with a director whose distribution model lives entirely on social platforms. That combination — a recognizable face delivered through YouTube, TikTok and Instagram feeds rather than theaters or streaming — is the working bet behind the project.

The announcement video remains live on Cate's Instagram account. With casting confirmed and the "Open Door" team reassembling, further details on the short are expected to follow.