Melissa McCarthy's 'God's Favourite Idiot' wraps production early

Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have wrapped up production for the upcoming Netflix comedy series God's Favourite Idiot earlier than expected in Australia. This comes after a report by the Guardian published on Tuesday informed that just half of the entire set of 16 episodes originally planned for the series, had been shot when the production was halted.

The production being halted midway caused concern for fans and crew alike who feared the show being cancelled before release. However, according to a spokesperson close to the show, the remaining second set of the episode will be eventually shot, but at a later date. A change in plans by Netflix to now shoot the entire series in two batches of eight episodes rather than all at once, led to the production being stopped midway.

In a statement, Netflix said, “We’ve wrapped production on eight episodes of God’s Favorite Idiot, which will premiere next year. Australia has been so welcoming to all of us and we’re thankful for their hospitality. We’re grateful to our creative partners Ben and Melissa, along with our amazing cast and crew for their hard work and dedication to bring this show to life.”

“We are so sad to leave Australia, as it has truly felt like home to us this past year,” actors McCarthy and Falcone said in a statement. “We were so lucky to have had the best, hardest working Australian cast and crew. We are so proud of God’s Favorite Idiot and cannot wait to share it with everyone," they further added.

God's Favourite Idiot is an upcoming Netflix comedy series set to premiere next year. The show stars McCarthy, Falcone, Usman Ally, Leslie Bibb, Kevin Dunn and more. McCarthy and Falcone are also executive producing the project, through their production banner On the Day, alongside director Michael McDonald. Production on the series first began in New South Wales in March earlier this year.