Jordan Peele signs overall TV deal with Amazon Studios
Amazon continues to make waves on the TV side of their operation as Oscar-winner Jordan Peele has signed an overall TV deal with Amazon Studios.
Amazon is getting in the Jordan Peele business.
The Oscar-winning writer, producer and director of Get Out has signed an overall TV deal with Amazon Studios on Tuesday. Peele previously was signed under Sonar Entertainment where his Monkeypaw productions was housed under the independent company.
Now, Peele has a chance to really spread his wings on the small screen and Amazon is eager to have him in the fold as new studio head Jennifer Salke is determined to inject some much-needed life into the stagnant TV operation.
Since taking on the job earlier this year, Salke has been busy ordering a new Lord of the Rings series that will be the most expensive show of all-time, renewing Golden Globe-winning, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Bosch, and firing Jeffrey Tambor and announcing Transparent will end after the fifth season.
"“Jordan, [Monkeypaw’s] Win Rosenfeld and the Monkeypaw team represent the ideal creative collaboration as we continue to ramp up original, culturally relevant and riveting television,” Salke said, via The Hollywood Reporter. “Our Lorena Bobbitt documentary and series order for The Hunt represent just the start of what will be a prolific and exciting relationship with Monkeypaw.”"
Peele’s first-look movie deal remains with Universal Pictures. Peele is already working on a Lorena Bobbitt documentary for Amazon and his Nazi drama The Hunt was ordered to series.
Fans can expect plenty more from Peele in the coming years, and I hope we’ll see him tap into his comedic roots with one of his next big projects.
"“I couldn’t be more excited about this new relationship with Amazon,” Peele said via THR. “They’ve been a fantastic partner to Monkeypaw over the last year because they’re committed to the same kind of fun and culturally relevant television we are,” Peele said."
This is an exciting time for Amazon as they try to make up ground in the streaming wars with Netflix and Hulu. The steps Salke has taken so far will go a long way toward just that.
Amazon has previously signed Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Jill Soloway (Transparent) and Amy Sherman-Palladino (Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) to overall TV deals. This is the new trend with streamers signing the TV makers instead of buying the shows from the networks who make those shows. This eliminated the middle man and is a cost-saving measure.
It’ll be less expensive to pay the showrunner to make the shows for the company vs. paying for another studio’s show.
Peele’s financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but it’s safe to assume, he’s receiving a nice payday.