David Farnor | On 27, Feb 2014

Arrow, The Following and Revolution will be coming to Prime Instant Video, thanks to a new deal between Amazon and Warner Bros. TV.

The two giants announced a new agreement to bring five hit US TV series to the online retailer’s newly-re-branded subscription video on demand service, which launched today.

The multi-year agreement sees Amazon Prime Instant Video acquire the UK on demand subscription streaming rights to multiple seasons of Arrow, The Following, Hostages, Revolution and The 100, following their linear UK broadcast runs.

The first seasons of Arrow, The Following and Revolution will go live on Amazon Prime Instant Video this year with Hostages and The 100 in 2015, and subsequent seasons of each show following thereafter.

Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution, commented: “We are very pleased to extend and develop our relationship with Amazon in a deal that demonstrates the growing appetite for SVOD rights to our TV shows in the UK. UK viewers can now look forward to either re-watching or discovering these quality series on the Prime Instant Video streaming service in the coming months and years.”

“We are incredibly excited to bring these critically acclaimed shows to UK TV fans when they arrive on Prime Instant Video, Britain’s largest subscription streaming service, later this year,” added Jason Ropell, Head of Amazon Instant Video International Content Acquisition.

“Launching in July with Arrow season 1 and Revolution season 1, these standout series will be available on demand and all at once, adding to our already vast catalogue of exceptional TV shows available to stream at the viewers’ convenience.”

Based on characters published by DC Comics, Arrow charts the tale of billionaire Oliver Queen who, after being marooned for five years on a remote island, returns home with a mysterious agenda and a lethal set of new skills that he uses in a war on crime. In 2012, it was the #1 US scripted drama in UK multi-channel homes and has since been available as part of Sky’s NOW subscription service alongside its broadcast on Sky One.

Hostages is a series about a family caught in the middle of a grand political conspiracy that will change their lives forever. It stars Toni Collette, Argo’s Tate Donovan and American Horror Story’s Dylan McDermott.

Revolution is a swashbuckling drama from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Supernatural’s Eric Kripke and centres on the Matheson family’s struggle to survive 15 years after a mysterious worldwide blackout. Their post-apocalyptic world is juxtaposed with bucolic, overgrown cities and a journey of hope, rebirth and retribution. The show enjoyed the most successful US drama series premiere ever in UK multi-channel homes, when it launched in 2013.

The 100, set for linear TV broadcast (remember that?) later this year, follows 100 juvenile prisoners sent to Earth to test whether it is habitable, a century on from a devastating nuclear apocalypse which saw the only survivors being the inhabitants of 12 international space stations that were in orbit at the time.

The Following, meawhile, stars Kevin Bacon as an FBI agent on the hunt for a brilliant and charismatic serial killer played by James Purefoy, who communicates and connects with other active serial killers in the US, who in turn follow his every command.

The deal is a major statement of intent from Amazon, whose re-brand of LOVEFiLM Instant is bringing the VOD title battle right to Netflix’s front door.

For those undecided on which service to subscribe to, most will just be hoping that The Following is successful enough to stop Kevin Bacon starring in those EE adverts.

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