Classic sitcoms from legendary producer Norman Lear, including Diff’rent Strokes, 227, The Jeffersons, and Sanford & Son are coming to Amazon Prime Video and IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming service.
The deal to bring the super-producer’s catalog to the streamers was announced Wednesday as part of a licensing agreement between Amazon and Sony Pictures Television.
“In 2018, our Act III Productions sat with the team at Sony Pictures Television and formed a partnership to not only produce new content, but to bring a new awareness to my former Embassy library,” Lear said in a statement. “That Sony found a home for that library with Prime Video/IMDb TV where new generations could find it, is the best present a man entering his 100th year can have.”
Related Story: ‘The Jeffersons’ Remake Scores Record Emmy for Creator Norman Lear
First, 227 and Diff’rent Strokes will be launching on Prime Video starting, Thursday, July 15. The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, and Sanford will be available to stream on Prime Video later this year.
All in the Family, Good Times, Maude, and One Day at a Time will launch Thursday, July 15 on IMDb TV. This will be the first time episodes of Maude and all seasons of All in the Family are available to stream.
Lear’s first major sitcom was All in the Family which premiered in 1971. A year later, it was followed by Sanford & Son, set in the Watts area of Los Angeles with Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson leading the cast.
“Norman Lear is a national treasure and his impact on television and popular culture is immeasurable,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “We are so honored to bring his classic television series to Prime Video and IMDb TV so new audiences and a new generation can laugh, enjoy and be inspired, like so many of us have been throughout the years.”
Throughout the 1970s, Lear created and developed a string of hit sitcoms. More recently, he executive produced and co-hosted live remakes of some of his show’s for ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience franchise alongside Jimmy Kimmel.
Over the years, the 98-year-old has won six Primetime Emmy awards. He also executive produced two films currently in theaters, I Carry You With Me and Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It.
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