John Bishop has reacted to the trailer of a new movie based on his life and journey to comedy being released. The Liverpool-born comedian will be the focus of ‘Is This Thing On?”, directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern.
The upcoming comedy-drama is inspired by John’s life and will have its world premiere as the closing film of the 2025 New York Film Festival on October 10 this year. The plot has Alex Novak played by Will Arnett and Laura Dern playing Tess Novak; the end of their marriage is the focal point of the movie as they navigate how to live separately with children, while Alex discovers comedy as his new hobby.
On Instagram, John Bishop shared the trailer and wrote: “This has been a long time coming, but I am so pleased that you will soon get to see the movie inspired by my journey into comedy and my relationship with @Melbish1 – A funny and authentic story of love.”
Is This Thing On? wrapped production in New York back in April, Bradley, who directs the movie, will also star as the best friend of Will Arnett’s character. John is an executive producer.
Stand-up comedian Chloe Radcliffe, on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, spoke about the plot of the movie, saying: “Bradley Cooper is directing a movie starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Their relationship goes south, they split up, and Will Arnett discovers stand-up comedy.
“It is based on the life of John Bishop. I promise you! I think Will and John sat next to each other at a dinner 10 years ago and Will heard his story was like, ‘That rules, I want to do that someday.’ So anyway, that’s the movie that I just wrapped on.”
John has previously spoken about the split from his wife, Melanie, before they got back together. On the Graham Norton show earlier this year, he said: “So, I’d split up with my wife; it was a Monday night.
“I had the kids all weekend, and on a Monday I was just depressed, so I thought, ‘I’ll do something that you can do on your own.’ And it was either a comedy club or lap dancing.”
About his first memory after entering the world of comedy, John added: “I was meant to do seven minutes but because there was no one there, they let me carry on. I did about 25 minutes.
“When I walked off, I remember Mick the compere and the fellow who ran the place, Dave Perkin, coming up to me and saying, ‘Where have you been doing your stand-up?'”
The film is expected to be released in the United States on December 19, 2025, according to Vanity Fair.
After the trailer aired, fans of the comic sent messages of support and praise. Singer Olly Murs commented: “Oh wow, Bish!! I remember this story so vividly from us chatting at Chelsea Harbour one Soccer Aid evening! And now it’s in a film!! Can’t wait to see it!”
Another comment said: “This is going to be amazing. Can’t wait to see it. Just don’t forget us little people when it explodes here in the US.”
Further replies were “WOW!! This is absolutely awesome. Cannot wait to see it,” and “It took me a while to work out if this was a joke or for real! The American actors confused me.”
The comedian and his wife, Melanie, have three sons together: Joe, Daniel and Luke. The couple’s youngest son is Daniel, born in 1998. Their older sons are Joe born in 1994, and Luke born in 1996.