Amazon Prime Video is heading back to clean up Old Detrit as the streamer has greenlit a new TV series adaptation of the 1987 science-fiction film Robocop from Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
The planned eight-episode series is being overseen by showrunner Peter Ocko (Lodge 49) and was first reported on being in development back in September 2024. Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, who co-wrote the original film, will serve as executive producers on this new TV version.
Released in 1987, RoboCop told the story of a police officer (Peter Weller) who is virtually killed in the line of duty but whose brain is used to power a new robotic police officer being tested by a big tech company in the crime-ridden streets of futuristic Old Detroit. Despite having a very b-movie, pulp-ish premise, director Paul Verhoeven used the setting to create a film that contained stark satirical commentary about consumer culture and corporatism while still delivering some action blockbuster thrills.
The critical success of the original RoboCop film has never really been recaptured. Two cinematic sequels – in 1990 and 1993 – were met with less than glowing revues and diminishing box office returns. A short-lived TV series rolled out in 1994, with a syndicated mini-series, RoboCop: Prime Directives, following in 2001. Joel Kinnaman starred in a 2014 theatrical remake which didn’t capture much of what made the original film engaging.
