After a lengthy development process, Amazon MGM Studios has greenlighted Robocop, a series based on the MGM movie franchise, from showrunner Peter Ocko and Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
In Robocop, a giant tech conglomerate convinces the city to place a powerful robot on its police force – a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved, fallen officer.
As Deadline reported in April 2023, Robocop was among the first wave of MGM titles identified for series development following Amazon’s 2022 acquisition of the studio, alongside Legally Blonde, Barbershop, Stargate, The Magnificent Seven, Poltergeist and Fame, with a couple of others, including Pink Panther and The Thomas Crown Affair, taking the feature remake route.
The Robocop series started to take shape in 2024 when veteran Ocko (Lodge 49) was tapped as writer, executive producer and showrunner, with horror master James Wan on board to executive produce.
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Robocop is the latest project from the MGM IP slate to get a series order, following the Legally Blonde prequel Elle, which has been renewed for a second season, and Barbershop — both for Prime Video — as well as The Magnificent Seven for sibling MGM+.
Meanwhile, Amazon recently opted not to go forward with a previously greenlighted Stargate TV series; search is underway for a new writer to tackle the IP.
Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett executive produce Robocop through Blumhouse Atomic Monster, with co-executive producer Danielle Bozzone overseeing the series on behalf of the company. Ed Neumeier, co-creator and co-writer of the original 1987 RoboCop film, directed by Paul Verhoeven, will also serve as an executive producer.
“I’ve been a massive fan of Robocop forever, so getting to help bring this world to television is a dream,” Wan said. “What Paul Verhoeven created in 1987 was decades ahead of its time, and its questions about technology, identity, and who corporations really serve have only grown more urgent. With Peter’s distinctive vision and bold approach to storytelling, and alongside Ed and our partners at Amazon MGM Studios, we’re working to honor what made the original iconic and highlight its relevancy in this modern, tech-driven world, while building something unmistakably new for a global audience.”
The Robocop sci-fi action movie franchise centers around the futuristic adventures of Alex Murphy, a Detroit, Michigan police officer, who is fatally wounded in the line of duty and transformed into a powerful cyborg, brand-named RoboCop. The first film, starring Peter Weller, was followed by two sequels, Robocop 2 in 1990, Robocop 3 in 1993 and 2014’s Robocop, aremake of the 1987 film.
At its core a social satire — blending action with a critique of corporate greed, privatization, and the nature of identity — Robocop has become even more relevant amid advances in robotics and AI with its themes of humanity versus technology and the consequences of unchecked corporate power.
“Robocop is a franchise that has meant something to audiences for nearly four decades — not just as an action spectacle, but as a sharp, provocative mirror of our relationship with technology and power,” said Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios. “Peter Ocko has crafted a vision that honors the soul of what made the original so enduring while building something entirely fresh and urgent for today. Paired with the cinematic sensibility of James Wan and the team at Blumhouse Atomic Monster, we believe this series will captivate a whole new generation of fans on Prime Video.”
