Octavia Spencer to exec producer and star with Hannah Waddingham in New Action-Adventure Series at Amazon Prime Video
Variety reports that Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer are teaming up to kick some butt together on TV. The two actors have signed on to star in an action-adventure series based on an original idea by exec producer Tessa Coates (“Feel Good,” “Ladhood”) for Amazon’s Prime Video.
In the show, Waddingham plays Judith, who has secretly been working as a highly trained assassin. That’s a double life that Judith’s best friend Debbie (played by Spencer) knows nothing about — until a hit goes wrong. Now Judith and Debbie are on the run, aiming to stay one step ahead of a mysterious enemy. And while they try to figure out what’s going on, they also have to fix their now-ruptured friendship.
Skydance Television is behind the show, along with Andy and Barbara Muschietti’s Double Dream shingle and Spencer’s Orit Entertainment (which has a first-look deal with Skydance; this is the first project to come out of that pact). The untitled series will produce eight episodes for Prime Video across the world.
“I was in as soon as I heard Tessa’s stunning pitch. To be able to dive into a role like Debbie is rare, and working with Hannah to bring this unique friendship to life is a dream,” Spencer said in a statement. ““We knew we had something special with Skydance and Double Dream, and now that we have a home at Amazon, our vision has become a reality.”
Added Waddingham: ““I’m not gonna lie, a few expletives fell out of my face at the prospect of working with the magnificent Ms. Spencer, Tessa Coates’ hugely energetic, exhilarating script, Skydance and Double Dream. To then see the immediate excited response from a mighty beast like Amazon… It’s all just incredibly exciting, and I can’t wait to get our collective teeth into it.”
Coates will executive produce the series with Spencer, Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft for Orit Entertainment; Waddingham; Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Irene Yeung for Double Dream; and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Matt Thunell for Skydance Television. Mark Mikutowicz and Blair Bigelow developed the project for Skydance.