After eight go-rounds on the the big screen, the “Fast & Furious” franchise is zooming to your TV, courtesy of Netflix.
The streaming service announced Monday that it has handed a straight-to-series order to an animated show based on the popular flicks starring Vin Diesel, as part of their overall multi-year deal for original animated kids and family programming with DreamWorks Animation Television and Universal Pictures.
Here is the show’s logline: Teenager Tony Toretto follows in the footsteps of his cousin Dom when he and his friends are recruited by a government agency to infiltrate an elite racing league serving as a front for a nefarious crime organization bent on world domination.
Tim Hedrick (DreamWorks’ “Voltron Legendary Defender”) and Bret Haaland (“All Hail King Julien”) will serve as executive producers and showrunners on the series. Diesel, Neal Moritz and Chris Morgan, who produce the live-action multi-billion dollar Universal franchise, are also serving as executive producers.
This new order is the latest in a five year relationship between Netflix, DreamWorks Animation and Universal that has seen 14 original series debut on the streaming service, including DreamWorks’ “Trollhunters” from Guillermo del Toro, DreamWorks’ “Spirit Riding Free” and “All Hail King Julien,” with an additional four series slated to debut on Netflix in 2018.
“We are thrilled to take our fantastic partnership with DreamWorks Animation to the next level with new opportunities from the vast library of Universal Pictures,” said Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Kids and Family at Netflix. “The ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise is a global phenomenon beloved by audiences of all ages, and we can’t wait to get started on the new animated series that will capture the action, heart, humor and global appeal of the feature films.”
“We are excited to extend and expand our successful relationship with Netflix by not only delivering more high-quality DreamWorks programming, but connecting fans of Universal films with fascinating new stories,” said Margie Cohn, president of DreamWorks Animation Television. “Our new home at Universal marks an exciting new chapter for storytelling at our studio, and ‘Fast & Furious’ is only the beginning.”