The Yellowstone effect has reached Amazon.
The retail giant/streamer is teaming with True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto for an untitled Western drama.
The project, which has a series commitment, is being fast-tracked by Nick Pepper as sources say Amazon’s head of U.S. wholly owned series and development is considering the Western the streamer’s version of Paramount Network mega-hit Yellowstone.
Amazon declined comment.
The series is described as in the tradition of ensemble Westerns, where larger-than-life characters rob, con and outsmart each other. It revolves around a former outlaw who must reckon with a threat from his past in order to keep the life and family he has worked so hard to build. He sets out on an epic journey that unites a formidable gang of indelible figures to face an even greater danger, in an epic saga of adventure and romance that forces this former criminal to become the hero he’s been pretending to be.
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Pepper is writing the drama and will exec produce alongside Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul). Johnson remains in demand as he has creative oversight of AMC’s Anne Rice Vampire universe that already includes Interview With the Vampire and Mayfair Witches, both of which have already been picked up for second seasons.
The Amazon Western marks Pizzolatto’s first project since he exited the first-look deal he had with Disney’s FX and Touchstone Television in January 2021. At the time, Pizzolatto had two years remaining on the deal that came after he sold drama Redeemer to FX. The show, which had a script-to-series commitment, was to have reunited Pizzolatto with Matthew McConaughey after True Detective. Redeemer, which was based on Patrick Coleman’s novel The Churchgoer, was scrapped after McConaughey dropped out of the show, and FX ultimately passed on the project. With Redeemer dead, FX decided it no longer needed to keep Pizzolatto under a deal of his own that was tied to the show.
Pizzolatto remains credited as an executive producer on HBO’s True Detective, though he is not creatively involved at all. HBO owns the rights to the franchise and handed creative oversight of the series to Barry Jenkins and writer/showrunner Issa Lopez. Season four, which was officially ordered to series in June, under the title True Detective: Night Country, stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis. It is expected to premiere this year.
The Emmy-nominated Pizzolatto steered the first three seasons of the franchise, which has also collected numerous accolades from the TV Academy. Pizzolatto is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Goodman Genow.
Yellowstone, which is currently in a salary standoff with star Kevin Costner, has become a mega-hit for Paramount Global. The series, co-created by Taylor Sheridan, has become a massive franchise for the conglomerate. While the original airs on the linear Paramount Network, Yellowstone’s multiple (and star-studded) spinoffs have helped propel streamer Paramount+ to impressive growth numbers amid increased competition. The franchise’s overwhelming success has inspired the Western genre to become increasingly in demand at major conglomerates with the likes of Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) and Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), among others, all heading to the ranch.
