If Amazon viewers had their way, Jean-Claude Van Johnson would have been ordered to series weeks ago. John and Jane Q. Product Reviewer have showered the meta comedy series’ pilot episode with praise, as 66 percent of the reviews are five stars and just seven percent gave the episode one star, with the biggest complaint being that Jean-Claude Van Damme is too old and the plot of a spy parody is too ridiculous. Also, at least one reviewer is simply fed up with Hollywood, but that probably has less to do with a fun comedy and more to do with artistic vision or integrity or whatever.
At the same time, critics mostly liked what they saw in the JCVJ pilot, myself certainly included, but one complaint was consistent: Can this concept and story survive an entire series without running out of gas? The great news is that we’ll soon know the answer to that, as Amazon has ordered Jean-Claude Van Johnson to series. In addition to what is arguably Van Damme’s greatest role in years, Amazon has also ordered I Love Dick, which stars Kevin Back as the titular Dick with the wonderful and often underrated Kathryn Hahn, and the new live action retelling of The Tick, starring Peter Serafinowicz and Jackie Earle Haley.
Amazon’s new batch of shows will debut in 2017. Check out the reviews for each series here, and let’s all get a little more excited about a full season of these shows by watching the sizzle reel again. I’ll be watching the JCVJ pilot for the 47th time.
