Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani Star in Hilarious Trailer for Murder Mystery 'The Lovebirds'

Photo Credit: YouTube

Rae recently announced the premiere date of the newest season of her HBO comedy, Insecure.

Issa Rae is the center of the first trailer for The Lovebirds, a romantic comedy moonlighting as a murder mystery. 

Rae plays alongside Oscar-nominated comedian Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), in the clip the couple is trying to figure out where their relationship is going. That is until they are thrown into the center of a murder when a terrifying man steals their car, kills someone on a bike and then runs off. This random moment leaves the two looking as though they are murderers.

Nanjiani and Rae officially joined the project during the script stage, according to Entertainment Weekly. They then actively worked together to adapt the story line to mesh with their backgrounds. “Initially they were written for white people which, plot-wise, would have been a different story,” Rae shares. “It’s not a story about race but we wanted to acknowledge our race and the fact that we’re an interracial couple.”

The movie takes place over an evening in New Orleans and features the couple attempting to hunt down the actual killers. In the trailer, the two switch out their outfits for wacky looks in order to not attract attention. After this, they break into an apartment and then attend a play inspired by The Handsmaid’s Tale.

The first look at the film also provides a glimpse of Rae and Nanjiani being kidnapped by an evil couple played by Anna Camp and Kyle Bornheimer. The Lovebirds is directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick).

Rae also recently teased the return of her critically acclaimed HBO show Insecure. The video features her doing what she does best: rapping in the mirror as her alter ego. The series will return on April 12.

The Lovebirds was set to hit theaters on April 3. Due to the spread of coronavirus, the film has been pulled from its release schedule. Deadline recently reported it was acquired by Netflix, at the moment there have been no details confirming when it will be available on the streaming platform.

Take a look at the trailer below.

The Lovebirds is now available on Netflix.

This article was originally published on January 16, 2020. It was updated on May 22, 2020.