Amazon will be bringing the glitz and glamour of Golden Age Hollywood to Prime Video this summer…along with a healthy dose of sex, violence, betrayal, and — what the hell — some Nazis, too. It’s all headed your way when Amazon Prime debuts The Last Tycoon on July 28.
The Last Tycoon is adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final, unfinished novel, posthumously published in 1941. Based loosely on legendary real-life movie producer Irving Thalberg, The Last Tycoon is a look at the struggles and scandal lurking beneath the glittering veneer of a struggling 1930s film studio. Matt Bomer stars as Monroe Stahr (a fictionalized Thalberg), a producer trying to navigate the perilous balance between art and commerce. Kelsey Grammer stars as his boss, Pat Brady (based on Louis B. Mayer), and Lily Collins as Pat’s daughter, Cecelia, whom Monroe hires — much to Pat’s chagrin. And then there are the Nazis — Third Reich representatives eager to squash any Hollywood productions that cast their glorious German empire in a bad light. Needless to say, Monroe isn’t a fan of their interference.
Amazon has announced a July 28 premiere date for The Last Tycoon‘s first season, and they’ve released a new trailer.
The Last Tycoon was developed by writer/director Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, Shattered Glass), and he also directed the pilot, which debuted last year as part of Amazon’s regular Pilot Season. The first episode is excellent, with a dynamite, charismatic cast and plenty of narrative potential to keep viewers hooked. The show actually should make a good thematic pairing with another early 20th century period piece in the Amazon catalog, the Zelda Fitzgerald bio-series Z: The Beginning of Everything (which stars Christina Ricci as Fitzgerald’s wife, herself a talented writer and Jazz Age icon).
The Last Tycoon‘s first season consists of nine episodes, which should make it perfectly binge-worthy. Here’s hoping for season two. Amazon Prime subscribers can stream the first episode as we speak.
