Jean-Claude Van Damme Developing an Action Comedy Series at Amazon
For those of you who just don't get enough of Jean-Claude Van Damme these days, you'll be happy to hear that he is developing his own action comedy series at Amazon called Jean-Claude Van Johnson!
Van Damme has had an exciting career full of both good and bad action movies. The actor doesn't shy away from poking fun at himself either. He did it in JCVD and that's exactly what this new series is going to do as well.
Amazon has only ordered the pilot episode so far. Here's the synopsis that /Film provides:
Jean-Claude Van Damme comes out of retirement to put on once again the mantle of his alter-ego, undercover private contractor Jean-Claude Johnson. “Johnson’s” cover as the lead role in a re-imagined action film version of “Huckleberry Finn” lands him right back in the midst of the danger he secretly always craves–but most importantly, back in the orbit of Vanessa, his fellow operative and the woman he loves.
The report goes on to explain the series in more depth explaining:
"In the show, Jean-Claude Van Damme is just the persona that Jean-Claude Van Johnson puts on in order to do dangerous private contractor work. Projects like Double Team with Dennis Rodman and the awful Street Fighter movie were only done to provide cover for Van Johnson’s secret operations. But now, not unlike Van Damme, Van Johnson finds himself out of his prime. He can’t do the splits to avoid getting hit with a metal pipe, he’s depressed by the family photos in the holiday cards he gets sent by Dolph Lundgren, and he’s just not the man he used to be.
"This is a project that features Van Damme poking fun at himself on a level far above JCVD, cocky about his career, both in film and private contracting. It exists in a world where there are plenty more covert operatives working undercover as actors, such as David Schwimmer (who isn’t necessarily confirmed to be part of the cast just yet) as Van Johnson’s rival, working for the same organization. The script from 2014 by The Expendables writer Dave Callaham is hilarious in its mocking of the entertainment industry while delivering plenty of action as well."
This sounds like it could be an amazingly entertaining show that is a completely ludicrous concept in the best ways. This very well could be one of the greatest series ever if done in a smart way, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. The series is expected to start shooting in May in Los Angeles.