CANNES — Global tentpoles and local-language series that travel — that’s the content cocktail that Amazon Studios is stirring as the company looks to capitalize the momentum behind “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series.
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, discussed the e-commerce giant’s content strategy and investment priorities in her keynote address at Mipcom on Oct. 18. Salke had intended to travel to Cannes to accept the PvNew Vanguard Award, presented by PvNew and Mipcom, but on the eve of travel she came down with COVID. Instead, Salke recorded a 35-minute live-to-tape Q&A with Cynthia Littleton, PvNew’s Co-editor in chief.
Salke outlined the strategy to go after big globe-trotting fantasy and action-genre fare such as “The Boys,” “The Wheel of Time,” “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” and “Jack Reacher” in anticipation of “Rings of Power” arriving this year. Amazon Prime Video has committed to five seasons of “Lord of the Rings.”
“Those are two areas that we will invest in as global tentpole content strategies. But we also want to appeal to local audiences,” Salke said. “People will come for the big global content. But what we don’t want is a customer to come in to be able to just watch one show, and then there’s nothing else for them. So we want to make sure we are really surfacing to them a collection of content that they love.”
Salke cited unscripted and young adult-themed programs as another key area of focus, particularly in the U.S. where Amazon has realized dividends from series such as “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty specials and the YA series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
But nothing has been a bigger priority for Amazon than getting “Rings of Power” off to a solid start this year. The company has committed to an unprecedented five seasons, or 50 hours of production, for the property. Season 1 completed its eight-episode run on Oct. 14. In Salke’s view, the final episodes of the season moved the story into high-gear, including the obligatory twist at the end that sets up interesting stakes for Season 2.
“Obviously the reveal of [spoiler alert] was a huge moment for the show and for fans,” Salke said. “We were excited about that reveal and thrilled to see all the conversation around it,” she said. “What’s really exciting about Season 2 is you no longer need to set the table and with characters and settings. You have really done a lot of the heavy lifting as far as what is this show is about (in Season 1). And so you’re able to get deeper into the storylines. And there’s a lot of great dramatic twists and turns (upcoming). It’s going to be a really exciting season that brings even more viewers to the franchise.”
Behind the camera, Salke said “Rings of Power” has been an important test of Amazon’s company-wide strength to get behind a series’ launch. Salke took the reins of Amazon Studios in early 2018, just a few months after the company committed a whopping $250 million for TV rights to the J.R.R. Tolkien property. And another $450 million has been committed to production across the five seasons.
“This started with such a big investment and a big kind of idea, which is very Amazon,” Salke said. “The fact that the company was all-in and had such a heartbeat for this. It was not just a piece of commerce for the organization. It was born out of love and passion and the desire to have Prime Video be a home for this property and to be able to really amplify a story of that magnitude and ambition.”
Salke also touched on how Amazon’s acqusition of MGM will change the landscape for both companies over the coming months. The integration process on the $8.5 billion deal is still in progress, but it has become clear in recent weeks that Salke will oversee MGM’s operations. And MGM will continue to operate with autonomy from Amazon Studios, producing for third-party buyers as well as supplying shows for Amazon Prime Video.
“You will see a big commitment to movies, a big commitment to getting movies out in theaters as well as on streaming, and continuing to expand on the home for talent that we built,” she said. “We’ve already started to experiment with some MGM titles coming over to Prime Video with huge success. And you’re going to see more of that experimentation … and more investment overall in exciting pathways for storytellers,” Salke said, citing as one hit ‘Samaritan’ with Sylvester Stallone, “another big global success story for both companies.”
