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I LOVE DICK & More Set for Amazon's 2016 Comedy Pilot Season

By: Jul. 21, 2016
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Amazon today announced THE LINEUP for its 2016 comedy pilot season which will debut August 19 in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan. Amazon customers can expect more variety than ever in an Amazon pilot season, including shows I Love Dick, based on the renowned feminist novel about a couple's marital struggles in the artistic and academic community of Marfa, Texas; Jean-Claude Van Johnson, where martial arts film star Jean-Claude Van Damme operates under the alias of "Jean-Claude Van Johnson" to serve as the most dangerous undercover private contractor in the world; and The Tick, an offbeat and dark superhero tale based on the acclaimed comic.

All Amazon customers are invited to stream and review the pilots in order to help choose the next Amazon Original Series that are then available to Prime members. The pilots will be available via the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/amazonvideo. Amazon customer feedback on pilots have helped make some of the most critically-acclaimed and popular series to date, including multi Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning series Transparent, multi Golden Globe-winning series Mozart in the Jungle, and the most-streamed Amazon Original Series ever by Prime members globally, The Man in the High Castle.

The new pilots feature prominent actors that include Kevin Bacon (The Following), Griffin Dunne (Dallas Buyers Club), Kathryn Hahn (Transparent), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Phylicia Rashad (Creed), Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD). They come from noted creators that include Peter Atencio (Key and Peele), Ben Edlund (Supernatural), Barry Josephson (Bones), Ridley Scott (The Martian), and Jill Soloway (Transparent).

"Nowhere else will voices as influential as Jill Soloway and Jean-Claude Van Damme share a stage," said Joe Lewis, Head of Half-Hour Series, Amazon Studios. "And that's just the Js. We're excited to bring such a diverse slate of pilots to customers and we can't wait to hear what they think."

Amazon's fall comedy pilot season includes the following shows:

I Love Dick

Adapted from the cult classic I Love Dick - referred to as "the most important book about men and women written in the last century" (Emily Gould, The Guardian) - is set in a colorful intellectual community in Marfa, Texas. Chris (Kathryn Hahn, Transparent) and Sylvere (Griffin Dunne, Dallas Buyers Club), arrive in Marfa when Sylvere is offered a fellowship to finish a book he's been writing on the Holocaust. When they meet Dick (Kevin Bacon, The Following), he taunts their imaginations and upends their preconceptions about love and monogamy. An exploration of the female gaze and how we tell stories about love and desire, I Love Dick charts the evolution of a marriage, the awakening of an artist and the deification of a writer named Dick. I Love Dick is executive produced by Jill Soloway (Transparent), Andrea Sperling (Transparent), and Sarah Gubbins (Ten Aker Wood). The pilot is directed by Soloway and written by Gubbins.

Jean-Claude Van Johnson

If you need to eliminate a political rival, debilitate a multinational corporation, or overthrow an entire government - and you need it done with the utmost secrecy - there's only one person to turn to: one of the most internationally recognizable movie stars in the history of film. Jean-Claude Van Johnson stars Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD) playing "Jean-Claude Van Johnson," a global martial arts and film sensation... and, operating under the simple alias of "Johnson," the most dangerous undercover private contractor in the world. Lucky for the world's bad guys, he's been retired for years... unlucky for them, a chance encounter with a lost love is about to bring him back to the game... and this time, he'll be deadlier than ever. Probably. Jean-Claude Van Johnson stars Van Damme along with Kat Foster (Your Family or Mine), Moises Arias (The Middle), and Phylicia Rashad (Creed). The show is executive produced by Peter Atencio (Key and Peele), Ridley Scott (The Good Wife), David W. Zucker (The Man in the High Castle) and Van Damme. From Scott Free Productions, the pilot is directed by Atencio and written by Dave Callaham (Mortal Kombat).

The Tick

In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an underdog accountant with zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero. The Tick stars Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), Griffin Newman (Vinyl), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Valorie Curry (House of Lies), Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin) and Brendan Hines (Scorpion). The Tick is executive produced by Ben Edlund (Supernatural), Barry Josephson (Bones) and Barry Sonnenfeld (A Series of Unfortunate Events), directed by Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight), and written by Edlund. The Tick is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.

About Amazon Video Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:

· Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV episodes, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Chi Raq, and kids series, TUMBLE LEAF available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership

· Add-on Subscriptions: Dozens of subscriptions to networks like SHOWTIME, Starz and more, available to Amazon Prime members as add-ons to their membership

· Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and Current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers

· Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/howtostream

· Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing

In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items across all categories, more than one million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, access to borrow books with the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

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