David Farnor | On 06, Jun 2018

Amazon and Jordan Peele are stepping up their relationship, with the online giant inking a first-look deal with the Get Out director’s Monkeypaw Productions. The production company, which Peele founded in 2012, focuses on film, TV and digital projects, producing the Oscar-winning hit Get Out.

The company previously had a deal with studio Sonar Entertainment, but a year on from that pact, Peele is moving to a new home at Amazon Studios.

The deal will cover TV projects only, with Peele’s first-look deal for feature films staying at Universal Pictures. It marks a growing number of direct deals with talent at both Amazon and Netflix, with each streaming service keen to amass a roster of creators producing original and exclusive content for their brand. While Netflix has Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes, Amazon has deals with Gilmore Girls and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman and Transparent’s Jill Soloway.

It builds on Peele’s existing relationship with Amazon, with series orders already given to his Nazi drama The Hunt, and a Loreena Bobbitt documentary series.

“Jordan, [Monkeypaw’s] Win Rosenfeld and the Monkeypaw team represent the ideal creative collaboration as we continue to ramp up original, culturally relevant and riveting television,” Anamazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke said in a statement. “Our Lorena Bobbitt documentary and series order for The Hunt represent just the start of what will be a prolific and exciting relationship with Monkeypaw.”

“I couldn’t be more excited about this new relationship with Amazon. They’ve been a fantastic partner to Monkeypaw over the last year because they’re committed to the same kind of fun and culturally relevant television we are,” added Peele.

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