User blog:ARTaylor/Lord and Miller Sign Sony Television Deal

The Academy Award winning duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have signed a five-year deal with Sony Pictures Televison. Under the agreement, the duo will develop both live-action and animated series through their Lord Miller Productions Company. Some of them have been confirmed to be based on Sony-owned Marvel characters, which are said to be a priority. The deal allows the pair to develop their own projects for network, cable, and streaming platforms while also being able to develop and supervise other writers' projects.

It was Lord and Miller's success with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that proved to be a major selling point. It is likely, though unspecified, that some of the series will tie into the Oscar-winning film. Since their Oscar win, the duo have been pursued by a number of multiple independent studios and streaming platforms. Select projects related to Marvel will be produced in partnership with Amy Pascal.

Lord and Miller will head to Sony at the nearing conclusion of a nine-year run at 20th Century Fox Television, now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, where they produced projects such as The Last Man on Earth, Making History, and Son of Zorn.

Sony Pictures Television Chairman Mike Hopkins said of the deal, "This is a significant milestone for our television business, having the opportunity to work with two of the most creative forces in the industry in both our film and television businesses. Building on our strong IP and creating new franchises has been a key focus for SPE, and the best way to do that is to invest in remarkable storytellers like Phil and Chris. We are thrilled to welcome them to the SPT family, and I want to thank Jeff, Chris and Jason for all their hard work in pulling this deal together."

SPE president Jeff Frost added, "Phil and Chris have reimagined every medium and genre they have touched. Whether it's television, features or animation, they have created their own unique brand and style. We are so excited to be working with these brilliant creators and showrunners and are looking forward to collaborating with them in every aspect of television – comedy, drama, animation and beyond."

Lord and Miller said in a statement, "We are so grateful to everyone at Sony Pictures Television for choosing to partner with us and expand our enduring relationship with the studio. Together we aim to make groundbreaking work of the highest quality and integrity, and to place that work in convenient proximity to your eyeballs and earholes, wherever you may be"