Andrew McCarthy is getting back together with his fellow Brat Pack alums Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jon Cryer, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez and more for the feature documentary Brats, a revealing look at the cultural phenomenon they became in the 1980s and how that has impacted their lives ever since.
Brats, from ABC News Studios, Neon, and Network Entertainment, is set to premiere on Hulu later this year. McCarthy, author of the 2021 memoir Brat: An ‘80s Story, writes and directs the documentary, which is now in post-production. He co-starred with fellow Brat Packers in some of the biggest hits of the mid- ‘80s including St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), and Less Than Zero (1987).
‘St. Elmo’s Fire.’ Front from left: Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Mare Winningham; rear from left: Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy
Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection
“McCarthy crisscrosses the country to meet up with some of the stars of those beloved films, including, among others, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, Timothy Hutton and key members of production, including directors, casting directors, screenwriters and producers,” notes a description of Brats. “He also sits down for a first-time conversation with writer David Blum, who fatefully coined the term Brat Pack in a 1985 New York Magazine cover story. A potent mix of Hollywood fascination, movie history and deeply personal revelations, Brats reveals how the label caused a frenzy and impacted each of them, personally and professionally, in this entertaining, intimate and evocative film.”
‘Pretty in Pink.’ L-R Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy
Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
“The Brat Pack has cast a long shadow over my life and career,” McCarthy said in a statement. “After all these years, I was curious to see how it had affected my fellow Brat Pack members. What I found was surprising — and liberating.”
Brats is produced by Neon and Network Entertainment for ABC News Studios. The documentary is produced by Derik Murray and Adrian Buitenhuis. Brian Liebman and Andrew McCarthy are executive producers. Neon’s Dan O’Meara and Tom Quinn and Network Entertainment’s Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz and Kent Wingerak are executive producers. For ABC News Studios, Victoria Thompson is executive producer, and David Sloan is senior executive producer.
‘The Breakfast Club.’ L-R Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall.
Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
ABC News Studios “champions untold and authentic stories driving the cultural zeitgeist spanning true-crime, investigations, pop culture and news-adjacent stories.” Its original titles include documentaries Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Sound of the Police, The Lady Bird Diaries, and Aftershock, and docuseries Killing County, and Wild Crime.
Among Neon’s Oscar-nominated documentaries All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, and Honeyland. On the narrative/fiction side, Neon’s Parasite, directed by Bong Joon Ho, earned four Oscars in 2020 and became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture. Oscar-nominated Neon films also include Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness; The Worst Person in the World from Joachim Trier; Julia Ducournau’s Titane; Spencer starring Kristen Stewart; and Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya.
Network Entertainment was shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for its Muhammad Ali documentary, Facing Ali. Recent releases include the Sidney Poitier documentary Sidney, produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin, and docuseries PUNK, executive produced by fashion designer John Varvatos and punk pioneer Iggy Pop.
Network Entertainment is now filming a feature documentary on musical artist Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone, in partnership with MRC Non-Fiction, directed by Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer of Soul).