Lila Neugebauer, who received a Tony nomination for directing Branden Jacobs-Jenkins‘ Appropriate on Broadway, will helm the pilot for a new drama series on Netflix. According to Variety, Neugebauer will serve as the pilot director and executive producer for the series, titled The Retrievals.
Inspired by the popular New York Times podcast of the same name from Susan Burton, the “powerful and surprisingly funny story” follows a woman who takes on Yale Fertility Center after she underwent surgery without the use of anesthesia. Maids creator Molly Smith Metzler will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the project. Andrij Parekh is set to direct two episodes of the series.
On Broadway, Neugebauer most recently directed the 2024 revival of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya starring Steve Carell. Other theater credits include Kenneth Lonergan‘s The Waverly Gallery on Broadway, Annie Baker‘s The Antipodes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins‘ Everybody, and Edward Albee‘s Homelife/The Zoo Story at Signature Theatre, and Itamar Moses‘ The Ally (Public Theater), Simon Stephens‘ Morning Sun (MTC), Tracy Letts‘ Mary Page Marlowe (Second Stage), and more off-Broadway.
Despite her widespread success in the theater, this is far from her first foray into television work. She has directed episodes of “Maid,” “The Last Thing He Told Me,” “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Room 104,” and, more recently, “Sirens” and “The Beast in Me.” She made her directorial feature debut in 2022 with Apple’s Causeway, which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry.
She is a recipient of the Obie, Drama Desk, and Princess Grace Awards, and for her work in the 2023-2024 season, she was nominated for the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Tony Awards.
Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas
