Amazon Studios has made a preemptive bid for Daisy Jones & The Six, giving a 13-episode order to a limited series based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s upcoming novel. The project hails from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Circle of Confusion and will be a co-production between Amazon Studios and Hello Sunshine.
Feature writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer, The Fault In Our Stars), coming off an Oscar nomination for The Disaster Artist, wrote the pilot script and will oversee the limited series, which will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories.
Daisy Jones & The Six centers on a fictional rock band in the 1970s, following their rise through the ranks of the LA music scene and beyond, eventually becoming one of the most legendary bands in the world.
“When I heard Hello Sunshine was developing Daisy Jones & The Six, I tracked down a copy right away and devoured it in one sitting. I loved it so much I had to take it off the market and bring it to Amazon Studios,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “I was immediately struck by how perfectly it fit into our overall approach of bringing passionate creators and entertaining, compelling content to our Prime Video audience. Reese, Lauren and I are kindred spirits!”
Lauren, whom Salke refers to, is Lauren Neustadter, head of film and TV for Hello Sunshine, who is married to Scott Neustadter.
Based on a book by a female author, with a strong female central character, Daisy Jones, Daisy Jones & The Six also appears to fall under the “addictive female dramas” category in the vein of Big Little Lies and Handmaid’s Tale that Salke has made a priority as such shows are not currently represented on Amazon.
Amazon is planning company synergies around Daisy Jones & The Six. Original music from the series will be made available exclusively through Amazon Music, and the print and audiobook from Ballantine/Random House will be available via Amazon.com and Audible.com. The book, slated for release in March 2019, already is available for pre-order on Amazon.
Witherspoon was an early fan of the book and provided a raving endorsement quote for its cover as her company nabbed film and TV rights.
“As soon as I started reading Daisy Jones & The Six, I immediately fell head over heels in love with it, and I’m thrilled to be bringing it to the screen with Amazon and Jen Salke, whose passionate pursuit of the material spoke volumes. With Neustadter and Weber, two writers I deeply admire, stewarding this project, I am so confident that Daisy and her band’s journey toward finding their voice will leave just as permanent a mark with viewers around the world as it did with me.”
Daisy Jones & The Six will be executive produced by Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine and Brad Mendelsohn will executive produce for Circle of Confusion. Scott Neustadter & Weber will also serve as executive producers, with Taylor Jenkins Reid as Producer.
Hello Sunshine is repped by CAA and Gretchen Rush. Circle of Confusion is repped by CAA and Howard Abramson. Neustadter and Weber are repped by UTA, Kaplan Perrone and Sean Marks. Taylor Jenkins Reid is repped by Circle, WME, Park Literary & Media and Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal.
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