Debbie Harry, 80, and Pamela Anderson, 58, will star as mother and daughter in the upcoming comedy movie Maitreya, directed by Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel. The film, a “‘soulful exploration of a dysfunctional family,’” which follows a script written by Samuel D. Hunter, will begin filming later this year, Deadline reports.
Harry, who rose to fame as co-founder and frontwoman of the new wave punk rock band Blondie, has long made her mark on the rock music scene. Blondie earned five timeless Billboard Hot 100™ #1s—including “Heart of Glass,” “One Way Or Another,” “Call Me,” “The Tide Is High” and “Rapture”—during their time as a band before dissolving in 1982. (And in 1997, Blondie re-formed, released the song “Maria,” and earned another #1.)
Now, ‘70s punk rocker Debbie Harry’s return to the silver screen marks her first film in over a decade. In addition to Blondie’s hits, Harry also boasts numerous acting credits, notably including David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (1983) and John Waters’s Hairspray (1988).
Harry’s comeback will be alongside Pamela Anderson, who will be leading the film as Maitreya. Anderson has seen something of a career renaissance recently. She received SAG and Golden Globe nominations and international acclaim for Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl (2024) and Akiva Schaffer’s The Naked Gun (2025) with Liam Neeson.
Coming soon to a theatre near you
The comedy movie will follow Maitreya (Anderson), a rising star in the New Age healing community. When she’s about to leave for a healing conference in India, she gets a call from her estranged sister, Monica: their father is dying.
Instead of staying home with him, Maitreya brings her entire family—including their mother, Barbara (Harry)—to the conference. She puts her healing theories to the test… while secretly gathering material for her next book.
Jonathan Krisel, an 11-time Emmy-nominated director, writer, and showrunner, will direct Maitreya. This marks Krisel’s first feature film.
Krisel is best known for co-creating the American comedy series Portlandia, for which he wrote and directed most episodes. The show spanned from 2011 to 2018; Krisel co-created Portlandia with comedic pair Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney riot-grrrl fame and actor, musician, and comedian Fred Armisen.
Maitreya is expected to begin production later this year with a script by Samuel D. Hunter. Hunter is best known for writing The Whale (2022), the TV show Baskets (2016-2019), and full-length plays, including A Case for the Existence of God (2022), Greater Clements (2019), Lewiston/Clarkston (2018), and A Bright New Boise (2011), among others.
Debbie Harry’s return
18 years since her last live-action feature film role as Flo in Elegy (2008), Harry will return to the screen with Maitreya. If you’re wondering, Why now?, you’re probably not the only one.
In an interview with Harry earlier this month, The Observer writer Megan Nolan asked her what drew her back into film.
“‘Pamela Anderson,’” Harry said, “‘who I respect greatly, and who is very good at what she does. She takes chances, which I’ve always appreciated. And she’s fantastic looking, and she’s adventurous, and she’s strong…’”
All of those attributes, of course, can be said of Debbie Harry herself, too.
Age is just a number
Perhaps what’s most exciting about the movie isn’t the star-studded casting, but what the casting means in an age of conforming cosmetics and plastic-filled beauty standards. Anderson and Harry, two iconic blondes, both boast seasoned, decades-long careers in the entertainment industry.
Anderson’s choice to embrace her natural beauty rather than chase Hollywood’s beauty standards has won her much praise amid a society that craves plastic surgery.
Anderson decided to go au natural after the death of her longtime friend and makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, in 2019.
Scared about going out bare-faced? “‘Surrender to it,’” Anderson told Harper’s Bazaar in 2025. “It’s real happiness. It’s freedom to know you can walk on a red carpet without a stitch of makeup on. I mean, why can’t I? Men do it all the time.”
As Nilgin Yusuf points out on the blog That’s Not My Age, Anderson’s rejection of makeup is “both refreshing and radical” amid the “uncanny, expressionless artifice of youth-chasers.”
Anderson’s transformation from the two-dimensional caricature of men’s fantasies to bare-faced bravado shows international audiences—girls and women alike—that aging is nothing to be afraid of.
In a 2025 interview with The Times, Debbie Harry opened up about turning 80 later that year. “‘But thinking about it [aging] all the time could be your downfall. And I don’t really want the same kind of life I did when I was younger,’” she said. “‘I’ve done that! That’s the beauty of ageing — you know what it’s about. You have it in your heart and soul and your memory bank…’”
What ‘Maitreya’ means for Blondie fans
Blondie’s highly anticipated 12th studio album, High Noon, can be expected later this year—or next.
In a separate interview with Harry and Chris Stein, Blondie guitarist and co-founder, Megan Nolan probed the pair on High Noon: “‘This year?’” Nolan asked.
“‘Allegedly,’” Harry replied, exhaling, what Nolan called, “an incredulous staccato laugh at the prospect.”
High Noon follows Blondie’s last studio album, Pollinator (2017), as well as the untimely death of Blondie’s drummer, Clem Burke, in April 2025. But nearly 50 years after Blondie’s debut album, Blondie (1976), fans eagerly await High Noon.
As Nolan reports, “High Noon is rumored to have a distinctly heavy sound.”
Harry added, “‘When you hear some of the stuff on High Noon, you can see the full thread of what Blondie is about, musically and lyrically… That has been a great relief to me, in fact, that you can actually say what’s on your mind.’”
High Noon also contains the final studio recording of drummer Burke. His posthumous memoir, “The Other Side of the Dream,” will be released in September with HarperCollins Publishers.
In recent years, Blondie’s career has been somewhat tumultuous: a partly postponed tour in 2020 and 2021, a Glastonbury Festival slot in 2023, and Burke’s devastating death.
The announcement of Maitreya has sent some Blondie superfans buzzing about a delay in the release of High Noon. One thing’s for certain: Blondie is eager to release more music.
“‘It’s very nice for me to play a song I wrote 30 years ago,’” Debbie Harry told Nolan, “‘because it’s a time capsule of a cherished part of my life. As far as moving ahead, I’ve always looked that way. I’ve always wanted to move on to the next thing.’”
Other projects on the horizon for Harry include “a film she can’t go public with yet” and “a documentary.” Blondie fans—keep an eye out!
Maitreya production
Joining the ranks of Maitreya is Caviar, an independent film studio based in Los Angeles, London, Brussels, Paris, and Amsterdam. Caviar’s 2019 film Sound of Metal won two Academy Awards and received a nomination for Best Picture. Producers for Caviar include Bert Hamelinck, Michael Sagol, Allison Hironaka, and Danica Radovanov, Deadline reports.
Sagol, producer and Managing Director at Caviar, gushed about the upcoming project. “Being a part of bringing Maitreya to life with Jon and Sam has been so much fun already. now having the chance to produce Jon’s first feature film… makes us giddy with excitement!”
In the meantime
Anderson boasts numerous upcoming projects you can keep a lookout for: Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning alongside Riley Keough, Callum Turner, and Elle Fanning; Somedays opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Ariana Greenblatt (Tucker Tooley Entertainment); Sally Potter’s Alma alongside Dakota Fanning and Lindsay Duncan; Kornel Mondruczo’s Place To Be alongside Ellen Burstyn and Taika Waititi; and Michael Cera’s feature directorial debut Love Is Not the Answer, alongside Jamie Dornan and Steve Coogan.
Blondie released a remastered and expanded deluxe edition of their seventh studio album, No Exit (1999), on October 31, 2025. Now available digitally, on CD, and on vinyl for the very first time, No Exit features the rare bonus track “Hot Shot.” Previously only available in Japan, “Hot Shot” sees Blondie return to utterly uplifting disco. Harry’s vocals tilt, soften, and croon—and the track is absolutely addicting.
In 2022, Blondie released a compilation album, Against The Odds: 1974-1982. Across 52 songs, Blondie showcases their biggest hits alongside previously unheard demos and recordings. Against The Odds includes studio albums Blondie (1976), Plastic Letters (1977), Parallel Lines (1978), Eat to the Beat (1979), Autoamerican (1980), and The Hunter (1982).
Jonathan Krisel’s IMDB profile lists his active and upcoming works, including television comedy Rooster, Canyon Lands, Everyday Parenting Tips (Universal Pictures), and Hey Bear (a “coming of age” revenge comedy starring Mia Goth, Zach Galifianakis, and Dan Stevens).
In addition, Krisel is also set to direct Pokémon Detective Pikachu Sequel (Legendary Entertainment) and Sesame Street (starring Bo Burnham and Chance the Rapper). Krisel will continue serving as an executive producer and director on the FX network comedy show Adults.
There have been no other official announcements related to ‘Maitreya,’ its production, or casting yet.
