Amazon’s new comedy pilots feature The Tick, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Kevin Bacon
Come August 19, Amazon will debut its latest batch of comedy pilots. The offerings are a motley mix. There’s I Love Dick, from Transparent’s Jill Soloway, which is based on a 1997 feminist text. It features frequent Soloway collaborator Kathryn Hahn alongside Griffin Dunne, as her character’s husband, and Kevin Bacon, as the man with whom she becomes infatuated.
But if you’re looking for something that won’t force you to think quite as much, there’s also Jean-Claude Van Johnson from Jean-Claude Van Damme. JCVD plays the title role and executive produces this one about a martial arts movie star—hm, sounds familiar—who is also an undercover private contractor. Phylicia Rashad also appears in the show, which is directed by Keanu’s Peter Atencio, another EP.
Finally, there’s The Tick, another iteration of the Ben Edlund comic. Peter Serafinowicz is the eponymous superhero, and Griffin Newman takes on the role of his sidekick Arthur. So Amazon’s checking off a lot of boxes here: It’s got the prestige entry from the producer who put their original content on the map, alongside a goofy-seeming star vehicle and a revival of a cult classic.