A new bounty hunter drama from A+E Studios is in the works at Amazon. The action drama series will be overseen by Joe Barton and Michael Bay, with a title yet to be announced. According to a recent report by Deadline, the new project will center on an American bounty hunter working south of the border between the United States of America and Mexico.
The untitled project will see the bounty hunter land himself in trouble with the Mexican cartel during his work chasing down a criminal. Barton will serve as both writer, creator, and executive producer on the film. He will work alongside Bay, who will serve as the project’s director, and Brad Fuller from Platinum Dunes, Range Media Partners, and Wise Entertainment. A+E Studios (in association with Range Studios) will oversee the series in partnership with Amazon Studios. No news has yet been given as to who is expected to be cast in the series.
The series is said to be inspired by Bay’s experience in Costa Rica. “I was inspired about five years ago hanging out down in Costa Rica with a former US Federal Agent, who surfs every day living the good life,” Bay explained about what gave him the idea for the series and main character. “He supports his fun, relaxed lifestyle in Costa Rica by tracking down ‘Bad Gringos’ hiding out down in South America.” Bay is one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing directors, known for blockbusters including the Transformers and Bad Boys franchises, as well as Armageddon (1998), which starred Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, and Steve Buscemi. More recently, Bay produced and directed Ambulance (2022), which starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González.
Bay’s idea instantly received the full support of Barton. “I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Michael Bay and Amazon to bring this thrilling and action-filled show to the screen,” Barton said. The BAFTA-nominated writer and showrunner is currently also developing a limited series adaptation of Amadeus for Sky Atlantic, as well as The Union (which will star Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry) for Netflix and the upcoming sci-fi series The Lazarus Project for Sky/HBO. Barton is best known for creating and executive producing the crime drama Giri/Haji for Netflix and the BBC and The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, which has since been cancelled at Netflix.
The new Amazon project isn’t the only series in the bounty hunter genre currently in the works. Another project is set in the world of “gringo hunters”, where Netflix will soon have a new thriller drama from Imagine Television. The series will be based on a story featured in The Washington Post entitled “A U.S murder suspect fled to Mexico. The Gringo Hunters were waiting,” which was written by Kevin Sieff. The series will profile men and women from an elite Mexican police unit who pursue fugitives, mostly Americans fleeing from the law into Mexico. The unit has already apprehended over 1600 fugitives since its 2002 formation, including billionaires who have committed fraud and murderers on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list.
A premiere date for the upcoming series is yet to be announced. In the meantime, check out our interview with Michael Bay down below: