Woody Allen Will Write and Direct His First TV Series

Well, this is unexpected. Amazon Studios announced today (via ComingSoon) that they've signed acclaimed filmmaker Woody Allen to create his first TV series. Allen will write and direct all of the episodes of the still-unnamed series, which will be a half-hour show. Casting announcements and a synopsis will be released sometime in the future. 

“Woody Allen is a visionary creator who has made some of the greatest films of all-time, and it’s an honor to be working with him on his first television series,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “From Annie Hall to Blue Jasmine, Woody has been at the creative forefront of American cinema and we couldn't be more excited to premiere his first TV series exclusively on Prime Instant Video next year.”

And here's what Allen himself had to say:

“I don’t know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this.”

I suppose from a business standpoint, Amazon has to make some flashy moves to truly compete with Netflix. Transparent just won a Golden Globe (and Jeffrey Tambor took home an acting prize as well), so that's a step in the right direction, but with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black looming as Netflix's cultural touchstones right now, I guess Amazon feels like they need to pull their own auteur into the fold and generate some content that people will talk about. If Allen is being genuine in his statement, though, it sounds like he has no clue what the heck he's doing, and was signed on name recognition alone. Will that be enough to pull audiences in? Will he be able to come up with a compelling story that's told over the span of multiple hours of television?

Then there's the more complex topic of the allegations of sexual abuse against Allen. I know people who refuse to watch his films anymore because of those allegations, and with the Bill Cosby situation still very fresh in our minds, more people than ever are struggling to reconcile the difference between someone's work and their behavior behind the scenes. It's a complicated thing, and it will certainly impact how many people end up tuning into this new show.

Will you be watching when the show debuts next year?