Jake Johnson’s Pickleball Comedy Trailer Debuts July 24

Apple TV has released the first trailer for “The Dink,” starring Jake Johnson as a washed-up former tennis prodigy who’s forced into pickleball as part of his rehab—only to collide with his own ego, his father’s vendetta, and a surprise appearance from Andy Ro

Apple TV is leaning into pickleball—and in its first taste of “The Dink,” it asks a very specific question: what happens when your body won’t let you play the sport you think defines you?

The trailer. released ahead of the show’s July 24 premiere. throws Jake Johnson into the role of Dusty Boyd. a washed-up former tennis prodigy who now spends his days teaching kids pickleball at his strict father Chuck Boyd’s (Ed Harris) country club. Chuck’s approach is uncompromising. and so is Dusty’s—at least until an injury forces a pivot that he never wanted.

The arrival of pickleball as a “prescription” changes everything. with the trailer teasing that Ben Stiller is part of that shift. Dusty eventually finds himself trying the game against his better instincts. leaning on an energetic older partner named Candace (Mary Steenburgen) as he adjusts to the sport’s gentler touch. But even when a new passion starts to take hold. his father remains locked in conflict—declaring pickleball emblematic of humanity’s decline.

The comedic tension begins with Chuck’s “war on the pickleball epidemic. ” as the trailer shows him denouncing the sport as something that taints the sanctity of tennis. That dogmatic hatred doesn’t stay contained. Before Dusty embraces the game. the trailer depicts him as someone who isn’t exactly pleasant to be around. fueled by his former hot-shot status as “The Hammer.” He bullies older pickleball players on the courts while still relying on tennis-era confidence.

Then the injury hits, the prescription arrives, and Dusty’s world starts to loosen. The trailer frames his struggle in the early phases of playing pickleball. before things click—along with the sense that he’s not just learning a sport. he’s finding a community. Candace and the pickleball adversaries he previously clashed with become part of that shift. even as Dusty wrestles with the part of himself that wants to win through sheer attitude.

One more turn raises the stakes and adds fuel to the redemption story: the trailer teases that Andy Roddick—Dusty’s childhood rival and a tennis legend—steps onto the scene, setting up a showdown with everything on the line for Dusty.

The Dink isn’t arriving alone, either. Filling out the star-studded comedic roster are Patton Oswalt. Chloe Fineman. Chris Parnell. and Aaron Chen. along with standouts like Lynne Marie Stewart. Josh Greenbaum. known for Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. helmed the film from a script by Sean Clements. with Stiller serving as a producer.

Clements has said the story is based somewhat in reality. drawing inspiration from his own experience rehabbing injuries by playing open mixers with retirees and forming surprising connections along the way. Greenbaum and Clements also walked through how the project came together for Collider’s Maggie Lovitt for our Exclusive Summer Preview series. including how Johnson got involved and how the cast was assembled.

What the director wanted viewers to feel, though, isn’t just the pickleball chaos. Greenbaum emphasized that the laughter sits on top of an emotional core centered on Dusty’s reinvention. including reinvention itself. ego. and friendship—along with Dusty’s search for purpose after believing his “big shot” has passed.

In his words. “I felt like that sort of all was encapsulated in his script. but I always. even in the silliest comedies. I want the movie to be about something. So. I think underneath all the ridiculousness and the comedy. the movie is really about reinvention. about ego. certainly about friendship. and I think. really. for Dusty. the main character. it’s about trying to find purpose in a moment in life when maybe you thought your big shot had passed you by. so that combination of everything really just was exciting to me. A world that’s very, very funny, but characters whose stakes I think inside that world feel very real to them.”.

For everyone ready to meet Dusty on court, “The Dink” hits the platform on July 24. The official trailer is available to watch now.

Apple TV The Dink Jake Johnson pickleball comedy Ed Harris Mary Steenburgen Ben Stiller Andy Roddick Patton Oswalt Chloe Fineman Chris Parnell Aaron Chen Lynne Marie Stewart Josh Greenbaum Sean Clements