Michael Bay to Make Television Directorial Debut with New Prime Video Series

After a decades-long career in blockbuster films, Michael Bay is delivering his signature “Bayhem” to television. On Tuesday, reports revealed that Bay will be executive producing and directing a new currently-untitled television series for Prime Video. The action drama project will mark the first time that Bay is directing television. It is created and written by TV writer Joe Barton, and will center on an American bounty hunter working South of the border who finds himself in a desperate fight for survival when the man he’s been chasing down lands them both in trouble with the Mexican cartel.

“I was inspired about 5 years ago hanging out down in Costa Rica, with a former US Federal Agent, who surfs every day, living the good life,” Bay said about the project’s origins. “He supports his fun, relaxed lifestyle in Costa Rica by tracking down ‘Bad Gringos’ hiding out down in South America.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Michael Bay and Amazon to bring this thrilling and action-filled show to the screen,” Barton added.

What is Michael Bay’s next movie?

At the moment, Bay does not have a feature film lined up to direct. His two most recent projects were 2019’s 6 Underground and 2022’s Ambulance. The former film recently got back into the headlines in an unusual way, after it was revealed that Bay has been accused of allegedly killing a pigeon during the film’s production in Rome, Italy. Pigeons are regarded to be a protected species in Italy and the European Union, with the former having a national law that makes it illegal to harm, kill, or capture any wild bird. As a result, after an unnamed individual who happened to be on set allegedly took a picture and reported the incident to local authorities, a court case was opened.

Bay, as well as his legal team, have reportedly attempted to get the case thrown out of court on three occasions in the past year, but it has not yet worked. The director denies the allegations in The Wrap’s report, saying that he is “confident we will prevail when I have my day in court.”

“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay said in a statement to the outlet. “No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I’ve worked on
in the past 30 years.”

“We have clear video evidence,” Bay continued, “a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story.”

“I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal,” Bay added.

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h/t: Deadline