Amazon’s Robocop TV show gets a new update, revealing that a showrunner has been brought on board. Released in 1987 and directed by Paul Verhoeven, the first Robocop movie starred Peter Weller as the titular cyborg police officer. After several sequels, the franchise returned in 2014 for a failed reboot starring Joel Kinnaman, with the property then moving to Amazon with the company’s purchase of MGM in 2022. It was subsequently reported that a Robocop TV show was in the works, though few updates about the project have emerged since.
Now, Variety reports that Peter Ocko has joined the Robocop TV show as showrunner. James Wan has also boarded the series and will executive produce the project through his production company, Atomic Monster. Atomic Monster executives Michael Clear and Rob Hackett will also executive produce, with Danielle Bozzone overseeing the show for the company. Amazon MGM Studios will produce the show. The report includes the official logline for the Robocop series, included below, which teases a premise similar to that of the original film:
“A giant tech conglomerate collaborates with the local police department to introduce a technologically advanced enforcer to combat rising crime — a police officer who’s part man, part machine.”
What The Latest Update Means For The Robocop TV Show
Ocko & Wan’s Experience Explained
No release date has been revealed for the Robocop TV show just yet, but progress is evidently being made behind the scenes after many months with no updates. The series also looks to be in good hands, as Ocko has an impressive resume in the TV space. He served as co-executive producer on 24 episodes of the American version The Office (2005 – 2013) before occupying the same role on 10 episodes of Black Sails (2014 – 2017), and 12 episodes of Extant (2014 – 2015). Ocko also executive produced Lodge 49 (2018 – 2019).
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Wan and Atomic Monster, similarly, have a great deal of experience producing projects. The company produces the larger Conjuring universe of films, in addition to titles like Lights Out (2016), Mortal Kombat (2021), Malignant (2021), and M3GAN (2022). In the TV space, Wan and Atomic Monster have produced MacGyver (2016 – 2021) and Swamp Thing (2019). With Ocko and a core team now in place, more updates regarding the Robocop TV show may not be far off.
If production begins next year, the
Robocop
TV show could potentially arrive in 2026.
Our Take On The Robocop Show Update
The Franchise Needs A Fresh Start After The 2014 Reboot
Ocko does have previous experience working in sci-fi with Extant, but Wan and Atomic Monster don’t really beyond M3GAN. Still, both have strong track records in Hollywood overall, and it could be exciting to see the world of Robocop on screen from a new perspective. Plus, it’s possible that Wan’s involvement means the show will lean into darker themes and potentially feature some horror-adjacent elements.
The 2014 Robocop reboot was a misfire, and there’s certainly reason to question whether younger audiences will at all care about this 37-year-old franchise. If Ocko can reinvent the property, however, making it feel relevant, timely, and exciting all these years later, the Robocop show has the potential to be a hit.
Source: Variety
Robocop
RoboCop is a science fiction action franchise centered around the character Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently resurrected as a cyborg law enforcement officer known as RoboCop. The franchise, which began with the 1987 film directed by Paul Verhoeven, is known for its satirical take on corporate greed, corruption, and the dystopian future of law enforcement. Over the years, RoboCop has expanded into sequels, a reboot, television series, animated shows, comic books, and video games, becoming a cultural icon in the genre of sci-fi action.
- Created by
- Edward Neumeier , Michael Miner
- First TV Show
- RoboCop
- First Episode Air Date
- September 10, 1988
- TV Show(s)
- RoboCop , RoboCop: Alpha Commando , RoboCop: Prime Directives
- Character(s)
- RoboCop , Anne Lewis , Dick Jones , Clarence Boddicker , The Old Man , Dr. Norton , Raymond Sellars
Summary
RoboCop is a science fiction action franchise centered around the character Alex Murphy, a Detroit police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently resurrected as a cyborg law enforcement officer known as RoboCop. The franchise, which began with the 1987 film directed by Paul Verhoeven, is known for its satirical take on corporate greed, corruption, and the dystopian future of law enforcement. Over the years, RoboCop has expanded into sequels, a reboot, television series, animated shows, comic books, and video games, becoming a cultural icon in the genre of sci-fi action.