Amazon continues to expand its genre roster.


The retail giant and streamer has handed out a straight-to-series order for a Tales From the Loop drama based on Simon Stalenhag's art .


The eight-episode drama is a co-production between Fox 21 TV Studios and Amazon Studios. Legion's Nathaniel Halpern will serve as showrunner and exec producer. Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go) will direct the pilot and exec produce alongside Halpern. Matt Reeves (Netflix's space drama Away, Felicity) will exec produce via his Sixth & Idaho banner alongside Adam Kassan. Rafi Crohn, who is working with Reeves on Fox drama The Passage, also exec produces. Swedish production and management company Indio, founded by Mattias Montero and Johan Lindstrom, will also exec produce the series, which is its first U.S. foray. The company's Samantha Taylor Pickett also exec produces. The series will debut globally on Amazon in more than 200 countries and territories.


"Simon Stalenhag's paintings are renowned for their vision of a not-too-distant, futuristic landscape. We are looking forward to bringing that to life and sharing it with our Prime Video audience,” said Albert Cheng, co-head of television at Amazon Studios.


Amazon's Tales From the Loop explores the town of people who live above "The Loop," a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe, making things possible that were previously relegated to science fiction. In the fantastical, mysterious town, poignant human tales are told that bare universal emotional experiences while drawing on the intrigue of storytelling.


Tales From the Loop marks the latest genre play for Amazon Studios. The streamer's push started with a mandate from CEO Jeff Bezos for the company to find its version of Game of Thrones after a TV series based on his favorite book (The Expanse) sold to Syfy. (The series is now an Amazon original after Syfy's cancellation.) Leading the charge is Sharon Tal Yguado, who heads genre for Amazon after selling The Walking Dead globally during her time with Fox International Channels. Under Yguado, Amazon landed TV rights to Lord of the Rings in a $250 million global rights deal. The company's genre slate also includes Robert Kirkman's animated comic book adaptation Invincible; Jordan Peele's Nazi hunting drama series; Gillian Flynn's Utopia remake; futuristic drama The Peripheral from Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan; Consider Phlebas; and a reboot of Hanna, among others.


"Nathaniel is a gifted storyteller who shares our passion for creating soulful, human stories that push the boundaries of genre programming and we’re thrilled to be working with him on this series,” Yguado said.


Tales From the Loop marks a key off-network sale for Fox, as the studio prepares to become a Disney brand. Fox 21 has been 20th TV's cable and streaming division and counts FX's Pose, Feud, Mayans and Showtime's Homeland, among others. This is Fox 21's first Amazon series.


“I was immediately intrigued by the idea of bringing Stalenhag’s incredible paintings to life, but it’s Nathaniel’s deeply inspired vision for this world, and the stories he has created from an incredibly passionate and emotional place, that will drive this series and its storytelling. Together with Mark’s brilliant visual sensibility and unique point of view, it makes this a truly exceptional project and the perfect one to partner with Amazon in our studio’s first direct-to-series order at the streamer,” said Jane Francis, executive vp at Fox 21 Television Studios.