Entertainment Movies Romantic Movies Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae Comedy 'The Lovebirds' Sets Netflix Premiere Date The comedy will officially premiere on the streaming platform on May 22 By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 20, 2020 02:36PM EDT Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani in The Lovebirds. Photo: Skip Bolen/Paramount The Lovebirds is flying to Netflix. The comedy from Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani will officially premiere on the streaming platform later next month on May 22. The film was originally set to hit theaters on April 3 through Paramount Pictures, but the current coronavirus pandemic prompted the studio to move the film to Netflix in lieu of a traditional theatrical release. Netflix released a trailer to mark the announcement (above), as well as a cute and comical promotional video on Twitter between Nanjiani and Rae announcing that their film will be streaming on the platform next month. Kumail Nanjiani Jokes He’s ‘Less Funny’ After Bulking Up: ‘I Do Talk About Working Out a Lot’ The Lovebirds finds Nanjiani teaming back up with The Big Sick director Michael Showalter in this murder mystery-meets-romantic comedy. He and Rae play a couple who experience a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally trapped in a criminal case after a man commits murder and then implicates them. The comedy also stars Paul Sparks (House of Cards), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) and Kyle Bornheimer (Marriage Story). The Lovebirds was originally slated to premiere at the Austin, Texas-based South by Southwest Film Festival before the event was cancelled. From Onward to The Way Back: Every Movie Being Released Early as Theaters Close Due to Coronavirus Paramount has done deals with Netflix before in the past, notably after the Super Bowl in 2018 when The Cloverfield Paradox skipped a theatrical release and went straight to Netflix for a surprise debut. Currently, many studios have opted to release its films on VOD services early as the current health crisis has forced movie theaters across the country to shut down. As quarantine stay-at-home orders are still in place across the country, Paramount has moved other film releases in their slate to later dates as well. A Quiet Place Part II has shifted its release to Sept. 4 while Top Gun: Maverick is moving to Dec. 23. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.