David Farnor | On 13, Sep 2019

Amazon is in the mood for Modern Love this October, and a new trailer gives us a fresh look at the series.

Inspired by the popular New York Times column of the same name, the series is created by Once and Sing Street veteran John Carney, who writers, directs and executive produced, while Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Divorce), Tom Hall (Sensation) and Emmy Rossum (Shameless) all direct episodes.

In front of the camera, the half-hour romantic comedy series is just as impressive: among the series stars are Jane Alexander (The Good Fight), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Gary Carr (The Deuce, Downton Abbey), Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), Emmy Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (Power), Emmy Award winner Tina Fey (30 Rock), Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr. (The Newsroom), Academy Award nominee Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven), Emmy Award nominee Julia Garner (Ozark), Brandon Kyle Goodman (Plus One), Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Ocean’s Eight), Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out), Caitlin McGee (Bluff City Law), Cristin Milioti (Black Mirror), Academy Award nominee Dev Patel (Lion), Laurentiu Possa (Killing Eve), James Saito (Always Be My Maybe), Andrew Scott (Fleabag), Emmy Award nominee John Slattery (Mad Men) and Shea Whigham (Homecoming).
 
The anthology of standalone episodes will explore love in all of its complicated and beautiful forms. You can see it in full from Friday 18th October. Here’s the trailer:
 

Trailer: Amazon’s Modern Love set for October premiereAnne Hathaway leads star-studded cast for Amazon’s Modern Love

27th November 2018

Amazon is making no half gestures when it comes to romance, lining up a star-studded cast for its new series, Modern Love.

The anthology, which hails from Once and Sing Street director John Carney, was already firmly on the radar of sentimental cinema fans, after Amazon snapped up the rights to the New York Times column of the same name about love and human relationships.

Now, Amazon Studios has confirmed that the half-hour comedy anthology will feature Anne Hathaway (Ocean’s Eight), Tina Fey (30 Rock), John Slattery (Mad Men), Dev Patel (Lion), Catherine Keener (Get Out), Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), Julia Garner (Ozark), Cristin Milioti (Black Mirror), Brandon Victor Dixon (Power), Shea Whigham (Homecoming), Gary Carr (The Deuce, Downton Abbey), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and John Gallagher, Jr. (The Newsroom).

The series, which is written, directed and produced by Carney, will explore sexual, romantic, familial, platonic and self love over eight standalone episodes.

Joining him behind the camera are some equally impressive names, with Emmy Rossum (Shameless), Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Divorce) and Tom Hall (Sensation) also set to helm episodes of the anthology. Horgan will direct the episode starring Fey and Slattery, which she also wrote, while Rossum will direct an episode written by the late Audrey Wells (Under the Tuscan Sun, The Hate U Give).

“It’s like I woke up in the actor candy store. We’ve managed to assemble a dream cast of my favorite actors. It’s a testament to the reach of the original column and of how, now more than ever, love is the only certainty,” commented Carney.

 

Modern Love: John Carney to make romantic comedy anthology series for Amazon

16th June 2018

Amazon is getting in on the growing anthology game with new romantic comedy Modern Love from Once director John Carney.

Anthology series have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, from the BBC’s horror/comedy Inside No. 9 and Channel 4’s Electric Dreams to Joe Swanberg’s Netflix series Easy, not to mention Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Now, Amazon, which co-produces Electric Dreams, is doubling down on its investment in the format with.

The half-hour show is based on the New York Times column of the same name about love and human relationships. It will brought to the screen by none other than John Carney, the director by Once, Begin Again and Sing Street. He will write, direct and produce the project, with Storied Media Group and the New York Times also producing. The series will explore sexual, romantic, familial, platonic and self love over eight standalone episodes.

This is not the first time a series has been inspired by the Times’ column, with HBO previously attempting to set up a project a decade ago based on the long-running feature. While that got to pilot stage at Lifetime, the show never get off the ground.

Amazon is aiming to avoid that with a straight-to-series order for the show. The online giant’s commission was announced during an interview with Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke, who said that the series is “telling heightened kind of stories about love and romance, not necessarily all romantic”.

The straight-to-series order marks Amazon’s increasing move away from its once pilot-oriented approach to original projects. During Salke’s interview, she also addressed the fate of Amazon’s latest pilots, with multi-camera sitcom Making Friends officially passed over, and Upload (a single-camera comedy from The Office creators Greg Daniels) still in “active conversations about the budget and other things”.

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