The Hilarious Reason Will Ferrell And Kristen Wiig Decided To Become Lifetime Stars

If there's one word that doesn't describe Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, it's "predictable." Ferrell is by far one of the most successful comedy actors and producers of his generation, but you're just as likely to see him doing the local news in North Dakota as Ron Burgundy, or hawking Old Milwaukee for fun, as you are to see him in a big-budget comedy. Wiig, meanwhile, has shown throughout her career that she's always down to clown. While she's made plenty of mainstream comedies like "Bridesmaids," her "Saturday Night Live" days proved that she's more than willing to get weird.

But even given their history of unpredictability, it was still a bit of a shock when Ferrell and Wiig decided to star in "A Deadly Adoption," a 2015 Lifetime movie about a married couple who are unable to have children and invite a seemingly sweet, and seemingly pregnant woman named Bridgette into their home to care for her. With Ferrell and Wiig involved, even a disturbing setup like that could be played for laughs. Yet Ferrell and Wiig played it entirely straight.

If you ever wondered why two comedy icons joined forces to make a low-budget Lifetime drama with completely straight faces, Ferrell recently explained why.

In a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ferrell explained, "I love just kind of keeping everyone on their toes." Ferrell got the idea to do a Lifetime movie by, well, watching Lifetime. "I woke up one day with Lifetime on, and I thought, 'Wait a minute, wouldn't it be funny if you saw me and maybe another known comedy person do a Lifetime movie and just play it straight? Yeah, got to do that,'" he said.

According to Ferrell, the toughest sell was convincing his representatives to go along with a movie that had a budget of just $700,000. But Lifetime and Wiig were both fully onboard (via Deadline). "Are you joking? I didn't even need to know anything more," Wiig said when she agreed to do the film. Wiig also said that she admires Ferrell's perspective on choosing projects. "To watch someone go through their career with that kind of 'Why not?' attitude — to truly come from a place of, 'This would be so funny to do' — I mean, that's what you want, right? That's inspiring."

In the end, their instincts were right. People still talk about "A Deadly Adoption" six years after it premiered. How many other Lifetime movies have that kind of staying power?