Steve Carell on the red carpetImage via TheNews2/Cover Images
By
Ryan O'Rourke
Published Feb 28, 2026, 8:00 PM EST
Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.
Sign in to your Collider account
Add Us On
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
From the 2000s through the early 2010s, Steve Carell was America's comedy king. He was ever-present across the entire genre, whether on television with his defining role as Michael Scott on The Office, or on the big screen in everything from Anchorman to Crazy, Stupid, Love, and Despicable Me. One of his most unexpected co-stars, however, was Mark Wahlberg. At the time, the Oscar nominee remained best known for his more dramatic thriller roles like The Departed and The Fighter. In 2010, however, he leaned into his own humorous side not once, but twice, most notably sharing the screen with Will Ferrell in the beloved buddy comedy, The Other Guys, while also joining Carell and Tina Fey for the less-heralded Date Night.
Directed by Deadpool & Wolverine helmer Shawn Levy, Date Night serves as the perfect vehicle to unite Carell, Fey, and Wahlberg by combining an action movie and a rom-com in one package. The Office and 30 Rock stars play married couple Phil and Claire Foster, who fear the spark has been lost from their marriage. To shake things up, they plan a night out at the hottest restaurant in Manhattan, only to be thrust into the most unforgettable night of their lives when they claim another couple's reservation. In taking the place of said couple, they also become the targets of a group of armed thugs in search of a flash drive, beginning a chaotic chase across the city. Wahlberg enters the picture as security agent Holbrooke Grant, who helps the couple handle a situation that they are very clearly in over their heads with, and looks good while doing it.
Fittingly, Date Night has the making of a great date night movie with its mix of riotous and memorable lines, like Carell's much-quoted "kill shot" bit, suspense, and newfound spark between the Fosters in their perilous situation. It also just became even easier for HBO Max subscribers to watch, as it's now available to stream on the platform as part of a wave of new additions for March. Carell, Fey, and Wahlberg are joined in the rom-com by a star-studded cast that also features Taraji P. Henson, Common, Jimmi Simpson, William Fichtner, Leighton Meester, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis, and more. At the time of its release, it garnered a respectable $152.3 million at the box office, though reviews were a bit more mixed. However, most critics had high praise for the starring duo's comedy chops and chemistry.
Steve Carell Will Soon Return to Television With a Complete Reinvention
Tina Fey and Steve Carell in Date NightImage via 20th Century Fox
Carell recently reunited with Fey for the Netflix comedy series The Four Seasons to critical acclaim last year in a return to television. 2026 will see his small-screen efforts continue, with the upcoming HBO dramedy series Rooster from Shrinking creator Bill Lawrence and co-showrunner Matt Tarses. He plays Greg Russo, a noted novelist who finds himself sucked into the world of academia after visiting a campus for a reading. Complicating matters is that his daughter (Charly Clive) is a professor there, forcing the duo to confront their rocky relationship. Also starring Danielle Deadwyler, Phil Dunster, John C. McGinley, and Lauren Tsai, the show will premiere next weekend on March 8, with episodes joining Date Night on the HBO Max catalog thereafter.
Date Night checks into HBO Max on March 1. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on all the biggest titles coming to and leaving streaming.
Date Night
Like Follow Followed PG-13 Comedy Action Adventure Release Date April 8, 2010 Runtime 88 minutes Director Shawn LevyCast
See All-
Steve Carell
Phil Foster
-
Tina Fey
Claire Foster
-
Mark Wahlberg
Holbrooke
-
Taraji P. Henson
Detective Arroyo
Expand
Collapse
-
Date Night
-
Steve Carell
What To Watch
July 20, 2025
The 72 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
Trending Now
Rebecca Ferguson’s Forgotten Sci-Fi Reboot Is an Unlikely Streaming Smash
1:50
The 70 Best Animated Series For Adults, Ranked
The 20 Best Erotic Movies of the Last 25 Years, Ranked
