Gunn’s Starsky & Hutch lands at Amazon

Starsky & Hutch ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979

Amazon is developing the recently mooted Starsky & Hutch reboot alongside Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn.

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) began pitching the reworking of the classic 1970s cop series to US networks and streaming services earlier this year and now Amazon has emerged as the winning bidder.

SPT Studios and the streaming service are now developing the show as a one-hour procedural with Gunn exec producing alongside Neal Moritz and Pavun Shetty of US prodco Original Films, Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn. It will be written by Brian and Mark, based on an idea by James.

The show will be a continuation of the original series, which ran from 1975 to 1979 on ABC. It was created by William Blinn and produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions.

The reboot will deconstruct the buddy cop genre in the same entertaining way that Gunn did with science fiction on Guardians of the Galaxy, Amazon said.

The original cop show followed two detectives as they dealt with crimes in a fictional Californian city, with Sony gaining TV rights through its ownership of the Spelling-Goldberg catalogue. Warner Bros owns the movie rights.

Spelling-Goldberg was also behind fellow 1970s show S.W.A.T., which is being remade by Sony for CBS.

It marks the first foray into television for James Gunn and his production company Troll Court Entertainment.

“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,” said James Gunn.

“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,” he added.

In related news, Amazon has launches its latest live-action pilots aimed at kids with Will vs The Future, Skyward and A Kid Called Mayonnaise.

The shows come from Tim McKeon (Odd Squad) and Kevin Seccia (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness); Greg Coolidge (The Troop) and Kirk Ward (The Expendables); and Will McRobb (The Adventures of Pete & Pete) respectively.

Amazon Studios boss Roy Price recently said the company will begin to commission fewer pilots and make more straight-to-series orders in the future.