As the war for talent escalates, Amazon Studios is ensuring that the Gilmore Girls creators will remain in-house.
The retail and streaming outlet has signed Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino to a multiple-year overall deal. Under the pact, they will create and develop new projects for Amazon. The news arrives as married duo are poised to launch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for Amazon, which in April picked up the period drama for two seasons after strong reviews for the pilot. A premiere date has not yet been determined.
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“Amy and Dan are brilliant. Everything they create has such an incredible vision behind it. On top of that, they’re wonderfully funny and smart people. Also, Amy has the best hats in show business,” said Joe Lewis, head of comedy, Drama and VR at Amazon Studios. “We’re excited about the next two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with them and, with this deal, we can’t wait to do a lot more together.”
The deal also means it’s highly unlikely Sherman-Palladino and Palladino will revive Gilmore Girls again anytime soon.
Mrs. Maisel stars House of Cards alum Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a 1958 New York City housewife who, through a series of events, winds up exploring the world of stand-up comedy. The series is the first new venture for Sherman-Palladino following Netflix’s Gilmore Girls revival. Alex Borstein and Tony Shalhoub co-star in the series that is produced in-house at Amazon Studios. An episode count for the two-season order was not announced.
“The team at Amazon has allowed us to have Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy as our presidents for the next few years and for that we are eternally grateful,” said Sherman-Palladino and Palladino. “Amazon is the future of television and we are thrilled to tag along for the ride.”
Sherman-Palladino and Palladino join The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and Stranger Things writer Justin Doble with overall deals at Amazon as the streamer, which has undergone a string of high-profile cancellations, looks for a breakout hit a la Game of Thrones.
As Apple, Facebook and YouTube begin to ramp up scripted originals, the arms race for talent continues to grow more competitive. To that end, Netflix signed prolific producer Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal) away from her longtime home at ABC Studios with a massive overall deal as more outlets look to fully own their original programming.
