James Gunn’s ‘Starsky and Hutch’ Reboot Confirmed for Amazon
Just over a week ago brought word that Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn had in mind to take on a new Starsky & Hutch for TV, though he quickly downplayed the rumor. Now, Amazon has officially snagged Gunn’s update of the classic cop duo.
Amazon now confirms the original report that Gunn is attached to the new Starsky & Hutch TV series, helping pen the script with brother Brian Gunn and cousin Mark Gunn. The new version is said to be “a continuation of the original 1970s series,” as well as “a character-driven one hour procedural for Prime Video that deconstructs the buddy cop genre in the same entertaining way that Gunn did with the science fiction genre.”
The Gunns three will also executive produce, along with Original Film’s Neal Moritz and Pavun Shetty. Brian and Mark will write the actual script based on an idea from James, who says of the project:
When I was a kid, Starsky & Hutch was the first ‘adult’ show I ever saw, and I fell in love. It instilled in me a lifelong love of gritty street shows, of killer 70’s threads, and muscle cars. So when Neal Mortiz asked me if I wanted to be a part of an all new Starsky & Hutch on TV, I was instantly intrigued. I teamed up with the two writers I trusted most in the world to work with us, my brother Brian Gunn and my cousin Mark Gunn and together we came up with a show that I’m really proud of. At Amazon I believed we would have the most freedom to create something that is different, challenges the audience, and that strays outside the parameters of genre from time to time.
The original series started in 1975 with an ABC movie, starring David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser. Afterwards, the full series ran for 92 episodes over four seasons, and went on to inspire the 2004 Todd Phillips movie starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.
Starsky & Hutch joins other classic TV cop show reboots like Vin Diesel’s Miami Vice reboot, but are you ready for another spin in that red Gran Torino?