Barry Jenkins Inks First-Look TV Deal With Amazon

Amazon is locking in Barry Jenkins.

The Oscar winner has signed a first-look television deal with the streaming service. Under the new pact, Jenkins will exclusively create original series for Amazon via his production company, Pastel.

The Moonlight director is already attached to helm the limited series The Underground Railroad, based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, for the streamer. 

“Barry is clearly a master of groundbreaking, authentically emotional storytelling, and we are so proud to have him share that gift with us,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said Thursday in a statement. “We are incredibly fortunate to have also secured his directorial vision for the entire limited series The Underground Railroad.”

Added Jenkins: “We at Pastel are excited to continue our Amazon relationship begun on Underground Railroad and look forward to growing that partnership on projects near and beyond.”

Jenkins joins a roster of creators with deals at Amazon that includes Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Amy Sherman-Palladino (Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Jill Soloway (Transparent) and Jordan Peele, who moved his TV pact from Sonar Entertainment to the streamer in June.

Jenkins became the first African-American filmmaker in Oscar history to be nominated for best director, adapted screenplay and picture for 2017’s Moonlight.

His next movie, If Beale Street Could Talk, based on James Baldwin’s novel, is set to hit theaters later this month.

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Barry Jenkins' Limited Series 'The Underground Railroad' Lands at Amazon