Apple TV+ is staying in the Ben Stiller business. After reeling in the success of Severance, which Stiller was intimately involved with in the first two seasons, the streamer has managed to sign up Stiller in a rare acting capacity. He will star, alongside Jessica Chastain, in a new eight-part limited series called “The Off Weeks”.

The series follows a writing professor (Stiller) who is going through a messy divorce, and engages in a romance with the mysterious Stella West (Chastain). For her part, Chastain is just about to premiere her first TV+ project, The Savant, debuting September 26.

When Apple ordered Severance back in 2019, there were reportedly some early conversations about Ben Stiller playing an acting role in the series. However, he was ultimately not interested in being in front of the camera, and the starring role of Mark S. went to Adam Scott.

Across the two seasons released so far, Stiller’s singular vision for the quirky sci-fi show helped propel it to become Apple’s most popular original title. For season three, Stiller has said he does not expect to direct any of the episodes, although he will be generally involved in bringing the show to life as a hands-on executive producer.

“The Off Weeks” hails from Stiller’s production company Red Hour. While it now has an Apple TV+ studio greenlight, it has not yet started filming, so it’ll be a while before it’s ready for release.

Coming sooner to TV+, Stiller has made a documentary feature about his parents. Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost arrives on the service in October.

Jessica Chastain is also becoming a TV+ regular, between this new series order, the upcoming launch of The Savant, and another series she is attached to called ‘The Dealer’, which is set to star her alongside Adam Driver.