Cult Sitcom ‘The Tick’ Resurrected by Amazon
Patrick Warburton will once again navigate the mundanity of superhero life and howl “Spoon,” as Amazon has ordered a pilot for a potential reboot of the cult superhero comedy, The Tick, The Wrap reports.
Tick creator Ben Edlund will return as writer and producer, though no word yet on whether Warburton — whose other credits include Family Guy, Venture Bros and Rules of Engagement — will be joined by fellow cast members David Burke, Liz Vassey and Nestor Carbonell, better known, respectively, as Arthur, Captain Liberty and Batmanuel.
While the deal between Sony Television, which owns the rights to the show, and Amazon guarantees one episode, it will be up to fans to help The Tick secure a full reboot: Amazon, as they’ve done in the past, will offer up the new pilot for free at a later date, and then decide whether to order more episodes after examining viewer ratings and reviews.
Edlund initially created The Tick as a comic book, which he later turned into an animated kids show that ran for three strong seasons on Fox during the mid-Nineties. The live-action sitcom debuted in 2001, and though the show garnered high praise from critics, it was canceled after just nine episodes.
Amazon has been working diligently to bolster their streaming options this year, both with original programming — like the upcoming dark comedy Transparent, which stars Jeffrey Tambor as a transgender woman — and from culling old and new series from numerous networks. Back in April, the website inked a massive licensing deal with HBO, which gave them the rights to classic HBO shows like The Wire, The Sopranos and Eastbound and Down, plus miniseries and movies such as John Adams and Band of Brothers.