A24 has released a new trailer for The Debut, Jesse Eisenberg's musical comedy about a community theater production that gets out of hand. It opens in select US theaters on December 11, 2026.
The story
Julianne Moore plays Mona Friedman, a shy New Jersey housewife who auditions for Nosy Neighbors, a new musical at her local arts center. She lands a supporting part, and under the influence of the show's director she becomes more and more consumed by the role, to the point of battling the domineering director himself to protect it.
Who's in it
Moore leads, with Paul Giamatti as Jerry Blankenbuehler, the show's domineering director. Halle Bailey plays Stef Mercer, Colton Ryan is Zachary Feldman and Eisenberg himself plays Todd Brennan. Bonnie Milligan, Lilli Cooper, Maulik Pancholy, Havana Rose Liu and Cara Buono round out the company, and Broadway legend Bernadette Peters plays Serena Cherry.
Behind the camera
Eisenberg wrote and directed the film and also wrote its songs, with a score by Emile Mosseri. Emma Stone, Dave McCary and Ali Herting produced through Fruit Tree, with Topic Studios on board. The Debut premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September and went on to play TIFF and the New York Film Festival before this winter release.
Distributed by A24.