J.J. Abrams will be doing a whole lot of business with WarnerMedia: Abrams’ production company Bad Robot has closed a blockbuster overall deal with the conglomerate to develop TV series, films, games and digital content.
Effective immediately, the agreement runs through 2024, though financial terms were not disclosed. (Our sister site Deadline, however, reports that the deal could have reached as much as $500 million.)
As part of the collaboration, Bad Robot will develop and produce new TV projects — dramas, comedies, event series and more — for all of WarnerMedia’s platforms, including broadcast networks, basic and premium cable networks and on-demand streaming services such as the forthcoming HBO Max streamer. (Disclosure: Bad Robot and HBO Max are involved in the development of a potential TV series based on the childhood of TVLine President and Editorial Director Michael Ausiello.)
Per Deadline, Abrams will still be allowed to produce projects for outside networks, including the two series he’s set up at Apple TV+, which launches Nov. 1.
Bad Robot also will develop original movies for WarnerMedia’s film divisions, though the company will honor existing obligations to Paramount Pictures, including Abrams’ direction of the next Star Wars flick, The Rise of Skywalker.
“It is a thrill for [Bad Robot co-CEO] Katie [McGrath], Brian [Weinstein] and me and the rest of our team at Bad Robot to call WarnerMedia our company’s new home,” Abrams said in a statement. “[WarnerMedia CEO] John Stankey has a powerful vision for the future of WarnerMedia and is committed to storytelling that connects people around the world. We are excited and gratified to be a part of this new chapter under his and Ann Sarnoff’s thoughtful leadership. I could go on for hours, and probably will, about the extraordinary Peter Roth and the entire Warner’s television group, with whom we’ve worked for over a decade, and I’ve wanted to collaborate with Toby Emmerich and his team for as long as I can remember. I am grateful for the chance to write, produce and direct work for this incredible company, and to help create films and series with a diverse and vast collection of inspiring storytellers. We can’t wait to get started.”
