Ben Stiller Honors His Parents in “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost,” Coming to Theaters and Apple TV+

Ben Stiller is turning the camera inward with “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost,” a deeply personal Apple TV+ documentary chronicling the lives and legacy of his parents, comedy icons Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

The film, which premiered on October 5 at the New York Film Festival, opens in select theatres on October 17 and begins streaming globally on Apple TV+ on October 24. Directed by Stiller and edited by Adam Kurnitz (The Velvet Underground), the documentary mines decades of archival footage, recordings, and letters to chart the extraordinary story of a couple whose creative partnership helped reshape American comedy.

“They had this incredible marriage,” Ben Stiller says in the trailer. That marriage—spanning over 60 years—survived the pressures of a groundbreaking comedy act, parenting two children (Ben and his older sister Amy Stiller), and the eventual dissolution of their professional duo in the 1970s. Despite career ups and downs, their relationship endured, becoming an anchor for their family and an inspiration for multiple generations of performers.

The documentary also features contributions from Ben Stiller’s wife, actress Christine Taylor Stiller, his sister Amy, and family friend Christopher Walken, who appears in the trailer, recalling with a smile: “Your father was a kind of a saint. Your mom kind of scared me a little bit.”

Apple TV+ documentary ‘Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost’ – chronicles the lives and legacy of comedy icons Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara

Ben Stiller, an Emmy-winning producer and director of Apple TV+’s hit series Severance, calls this new project “a great honor to celebrate my parents, both as I knew them growing up, and as I’ve come to know them in new ways through the making of this film.”

Produced by Ben Stiller alongside Academy Award winner John Lesher (Birdman), Emmy nominee Geoffrey Richman (Tiger King), and Lizz Morhaim (The Super Models), the film is backed by a powerhouse team of executive producers, including Bryn Mooser, Justin Lacob, and Kathryn Everett.

 

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Jerry Stiller, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 92, became a beloved figure to a new generation of fans as Frank Costanza on Seinfeld and Arthur Spooner on The King of Queens. Anne Meara, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 85, was celebrated for her stage work and memorable film and television roles. Together, Stiller & Meara helped shape the blueprint for modern sketch and improv comedy while raising two children who would continue their artistic legacy.

With “Nothing Is Lost,” Ben Stiller delivers not only a portrait of two extraordinary artists but a moving meditation on family, resilience, and the transformative power of laughter.

 

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