If you're in the mood to binge some classic sitcoms, then Amazon Prime Video and IMDb TV have you covered. It was announced today that Amazon have closed a massive licensing deal with Sony Pictures Television for a collection of classic TV shows from producer Norman Lear.
The suite of shows include All In the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude, One Day at a Time, 227, Diff'rent Strokes, Sanford & Son, and Sanford. According to Sony and Amazon, this represents the "largest collection of Lear series and the highest number of episodes ever available to stream at one time." The shows will be split between Amazon Prime Video and IMDb TV, with Diff'rent Strokes and 227 launching on Amazon Prime Video on July 15th, followed by The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, and Sanford later this year. All In the Family, Good Times, Maude, and One Day at a Time will also begin streaming on IMDb TV on July 15th. Most of the shows will include their entire runs at launch, but others will only be available two seasons at a time. In a statement, Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke said:
Norman Lear is a national treasure and his impact on television and popular culture is immeasurable. 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.
Norman Lear, who will turn 99 later this month and is still actively producing, added, "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. 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."