Amazon Picks Up Three New Series

Last month, Amazon Studios launched its 8^th pilot season with three new series on the docket: The Tick, I Love Dick, and Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Viewer feedback was apparently positive enough to encourage Amazon to greenlight series orders on all three shows. The Tick, I Love Dick, and Jean-Claude Van Johnson are set to premiere on the Amazon Prime streaming service. They will make their debut in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria, and Japan starting in 2017. For the uninitiated, here’s a brief synopsis of Amazon’s upcoming offerings:

• The Tick will be the show most likely to be familiar to audiences, as it is based on the long-running comics series by Ben Edlund that also spawned a fondly-remembered mid-90s cartoon series and a brief, critically acclaimed live action series in 2001. The latest version of The Tick, however, appears to be more grim ‘n’ gritty than those previous iterations.
• I Love Dick is based on the critically acclaimed novel by Chris Kraus that centers on the relationship issues of a married couple living in Marfa, Texas. Kevin Bacon and Kathryn Hahn are the stars of the series, which was created by Transparent showrunner Jill Soloway. Soloway also directed the I Love Dick pilot.
• Jean-Claude Van Johnson, as the name implies, stars 90’s kickboxing action star Jean-Claude Van Damme. The show has a bit of a meta-twist in that Van Damme plays a "global martial arts and film sensation" who also works as an undercover private contractor in order to hunt down bad guys.

According to Joe Lewis, Head of Half-Hour Series, Amazon Studios, all three series became hits with audiences due to their unique approaches to the TV genre. “These pilots were vast in scope, disruptive in tone, challenging in story and sometimes even funny,” said Lewis. “It’s rewarding to see customers embrace them in such a huge way. We can’t wait to premiere these series next year on Prime Video.”