ABC News Studios to Debut BRATS Documentary

ABC News Studios, in partnership with NEON and Network Entertainment, announced TODAY “BRATS,” a new feature-length documentary looking at the iconic films of the 1980s that shaped a generation and the narrative that took hold when their young stars were branded the “Brat Pack.”

The documentary explores the cultural phenomenon of films such as “St. Elmo's Fire” and “The Breakfast Club” that tapped into teenage angst and connected with young audiences in a way that had never been done before.   

The films earned a cult-like following but the "Brat Pack" label would impact the young actors' careers in unexpected ways for decades to come. Director and Brat-Packer Andrew McCarthy, who rose to stardom in such films as “Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo's Fire” and “Less Than Zero” and wrote the New York Times bestselling memoir “Brat: An ‘80s Story,” goes right to the source, reuniting with his fellow Brat-Packers — friends, colleagues and former foes, many of whom he had not seen for over 30 years — to answer the question: What did it mean to be part of the Brat Pack?

“The Brat Pack has cast a long shadow over my life and career,” said McCarthy. “After all these years, I was curious to see how it had affected my fellow Brat Pack members. What I found was surprising — and liberating.” 

McCarthy crisscrosses the country to meet up with some of the stars of those beloved films, including, among others, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, Timothy Hutton and key members of production, including directors, casting directors, screenwriters and producers.

He also sits down for a first-time conversation with writer David Blum, who fatefully coined the term Brat Pack in a 1985 New York Magazine cover story. A potent mix of Hollywood fascination, movie history and deeply personal revelations, “BRATS” reveals how the label caused a frenzy and impacted each of them, personally and professionally, in this entertaining, intimate and evocative film. “BRATS” is currently in post-production and slated to stream on Hulu later this year.

“BRATS” is produced by Neon and Network Entertainment for ABC News Studios. Andrew McCarthy is writer and director. The documentary is produced by Derik Murray and Adrian Buitenhuis. Brian Liebman and Andrew McCarthy are executive producers.

Neon's Dan O'Meara and Tom Quinn and Network Entertainment's Brian Gersh, Paul Gertz and Kent Wingerak are executive producers. For ABC News Studios, Victoria Thompson is executive producer, and David Sloan is senior executive producer. ABC News Studios is led by Mike Kelley, Reena Mehta is the SVP of Streaming and Digital Content, and Kim Godwin is the president of ABC News.

About ABC News Studios   

ABC News Studios, inspired by ABC News' trusted reporting, is an award-winning, premium news and documentary original production house and commissioning partner of series and specials. ABC News Studios champions untold and authentic stories driving the cultural zeitgeist spanning true-crime, investigations, pop culture and news-adjacent stories.

ABC News Studios' original titles include critically acclaimed documentaries “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” “Sound of the Police,” “The Lady Bird Diaries” and “Aftershock,” and popular docu-series and documentaries, including “Killing County,” “Wild Crime,” “Mormon No More,” “The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing, and Vanderpump” and “Jelly Roll: Save Me.”  

About NEON   

In only six years, NEON has garnered 25 Academy Award nominations (6 in this past awards season alone), 5 wins, including Best Picture, and has grossed over $200M at the box office. The company continues to push boundaries and take creative risks on bold cinema such as Bong Joon Ho's Parasite, which made history winning four Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim Best Picture.

Additional Oscar-nominated NEON titles include: documentaries All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and Fire of Love; Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness; The Worst Person in the World from Joachim Trier; Julia Ducournau's Titane; Spencer starring Kristen Stewart; and Craig Gillespie's I, Tonya.

Recently released titles from the NEON slate include: Michael Mann's Ferrari and Ava DuVernay's Origin, both of which premiered out of the 2023 Venice Film Festival; 2023 Palme d'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall from Justine Triet which won two Golden Globes; Wim Wenders' Perfect Days (Japan's official selection which recently made the shortlist); and Eileen, the Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie-starrer from William Oldroyd.

Highly anticipated upcoming titles are Anora from award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker; Immaculate starring Sydney Sweeney; and They Follow, the sequel to David Robert Mitchell's cult classic It Follows. This month, the Sundance Film Festival will mark world premieres of Seeking Mavis Beacon from director Jazmin Jones and Theda Hammel's Stress Positions, both of which NEON produced, and Handling the Undead starring Renate Reinsve.

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