‘The Continental’: Prime Video Picks Up UK Rights To ‘John Wick’ Series
Prime Video has picked up the UK broadcast rights to the highly-anticipated ‘John Wick’ series ‘The Continental‘ it has been announced.
The three-part special event series, based on the blockbuster action franchise, will explore the origin story and inner workings of the exclusive Continental Hotel, a centrepiece of the ‘John Wick’ Universe which serves as a refuge for assassins.
The series is told from the perspective of the hotel manager – a young Winston Scott, played by Colin Woodell (‘The Flight Attendant’, ‘The Originals’), based on Ian McShane’s character in the films – as he is dragged through 1975 New York to face a past he thought he’d left behind. In an attempt to seize control of the iconic hotel, which serves as a meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals, Winston charts a deadly course through the mysterious underworld of New York City.
Woodell is joined by rising star Ayomide Adegun, who will portray a young Charon (based on Lance Reddick’s character); Peter Greene (‘Training Day’, ‘For Life’), who dons the fedora of Uncle Charlie (based on the tight-lipped body disposal expert); Mel Gibson (‘Braveheart’), as Cormac; Ben Robson (‘Animal Kingdom’) as Frankie; Hubert Point-Du Jour (‘The Good Lord Bird’) as Miles; Jessica Allain (‘The Laundromat’) as Lou; Mishel Prada (‘Riverdale’) as KD; and Nhung Kate (‘The Housemaid’) as Yen.
Greg Coolidge (‘Wayne’, ‘Ride Along’) and Kirk Ward (‘The Turkey Bowl’, ‘Wayne’) serve as writers and showrunners on drama, and executive produce alongside Albert Hughes, Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, Chad Stahelski, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch, Shawn Simmons, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese and Marshall Persinger.? Albert Hughes (‘The Book of Eli’, ‘From Hell’) directs the first and third nights and Charlotte Brandstrom (‘The Lord of the Rings’, ‘The Witcher’) directs the second night.
If you’ve read previous stories on the show, and are thinking “wasn’t this being made for Starz?”, you are correct, it was. However, back in August, it was announced that Lionsgate, who owns the Starz network, decided to sell it to Peacock in the USA rather than air the show itself. Peacock owns the US rights to the ‘John Wick’ films, and Lionsgate seemed to think that Peacock was a more natural fit for the drama (and presumably got a decent chunk of cash for it too!) That decision has led to the international rights being up for grabs too, and Prime Video stepped in to take the limited series.
‘The Continental‘ does not yet have a premiere date but is expected to air in 2023, on Prime Video in the UK, and on Peacock in the USA. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
