It only lasted nine episodes on TV back in 2001 and delivered paltry ratings, but for those who enjoy their comedies on the cult side, The Tick remains a fond memory. Now it appears that the show – including star Patrick Warburton – could get a second chance at life via Amazon.
Originally created by Ben Edlund in 1986 as a newsletter mascot for a comic shop, the character evolved into an indie comic in 1988 before graduating to bigger things with an animated series that ran for three seasons starting in 1994. From there, it spawned the live-action series that featured Warburton as the titular goof, a good-natured parody of superheroes. David Burke played Arthur, his put-upon sidekick, while Liz Vassey was female hero Captain Liberty and Nestor Carbonell was Batmanuel who… look, you can work it out from the name, okay? Despite great reviews, the series was soon shut down even though the character remains hugely popular among those who encountered him.
According to The Wrap – which confirmed a story first floated by People Magazine – Warburton has worked out a deal with rights holders Sony television to produce a pilot for Amazon, which commissions the shows and then puts them on its streaming service to let users vote on which they want to see go to series. People mentions that Edlund will also be back to oversee the show and we can only hope that Burke, Vassey and Carbonell will have the requisite schedule freedom to fill out the cast again. SPOON!
That sound you hear is Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion cowering in anticipation of a thousand questions about whether Firefly could receive the same treatment…