A new Jem and the Holograms project is in the works, and this time the "truly, truly, truly outrageous" animated series is being adapted as a live-action streaming show.
The show is in development at Amazon MGM Studios, with Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan’s Kilter Films banner (Westworld, Fallout) producing, along with Gabriel Marano for Hasbro Entertainment. The series is described as an “elevated live-action technothriller.”
Jem and the Holograms hit screens back in 1985, and was created in an effort to capitalise on the music video boom following the launch of MTV, The series focused on record company owner Jerrica Benton and her alter-ego, Jem, lead singer of the titular rock group.
Jem ranked as the most-watched syndicated animated series during its three-season run, outperforming the likes of Transformers and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Jem has remained very popular over the years, but the last attempt to capitalise with a live-action take did not fare very well.
In 2015, a Jem and the Holograms movie directed by Jon M. Chu bombed so hard at the box office that Universal Pictures pulled it from theatres after just 2 weeks. The film made just over $2 million worldwide and was also lambasted by critics with a 22% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hasbro Entertainment’s slate also includes The Forgotten Realms, a live-action Dungeons & Dragons series at Netflix with Shawn Levy producing, Baldur’s Gate, also set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, at HBO with Craig Mazin writing and executive producing, and a Power Rangers live-action series in development at Disney+.
What do you make of this news? Any Jem and the Holograms fans out there? Drop us a comment down below.
These truly, truly, truly outrageous adventures of a music company owner who uses a holographic computer to live a secret life as a rock star originally aired from 1985-88, but are fondly remembered by those who grew up during the series' initial run (or still have the Hasbro dolls and accessories tucked away in their closets). Jerrica Benton runs Starlight Music, but she's also the pink-haired lead singer of Jem and the Holograms, a pop-music girl group with really big dos and funky fashions that only the 1980s could dream up. Over the course of 65 episodes, these rockin' ladies belt out musical numbers and battle the schemes of nasty industry executive Eric Raymond and a rival female band, the Misfits.