AMAZON STUDIOS SIGNS FIRST LOOK TELEVISION DEAL WITH OSCAR WINNER BARRY JENKINS' PASTEL

Jenkins to exclusively create original series through his production company PASTEL for Amazon Studios to premiere globally on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories

SANTA MONICA, Calif., November 1, 2018 - Amazon Studios today announced it has signed a first look television deal with Academy Award Winner Barry Jenkins' PASTEL. Jenkins is slated to direct the entire limited series for Amazon Studios of the upcoming highly anticipated The Underground Railroad, based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel. He will exclusively develop television series for Amazon Studios which will premiere globally on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories.

"Barry is clearly a master of groundbreaking, authentically emotional storytelling and we are so proud to have him share that gift with us," said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. "We are incredibly fortunate to have also secured his directorial vision for the entire limited series The Underground Railroad."

"We at PASTEL are excited to continue our Amazon relationship begun on Underground Railroad and look forward to growing that partnership on projects near and beyond," said Barry Jenkins.

Jenkins became the first African-American filmmaker in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture for Moonlight. Currently, he is working on The Underground Railroad for Amazon Studios which will be produced by Jenkin's PASTEL and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment. His feature film debut, Medicine for Melancholy, was hailed as one of the best films of 2009 by The New York Times. In 2017, Jenkins along with playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his second feature Moonlight, which won Best Picture at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes (Drama). Jenkins debuted his latest film If Beale Street Could Talk, based on James Baldwin's novel and starring Regina King and Bryan Tyree Henry, at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival to much critical acclaim.

About PASTEL

PASTEL was founded by Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy and Mark Ceryak to empower artists to create provocative, boundary-pushing work in film, television and beyond. In addition to developing in-house for Jenkins, the company focuses on supporting diverse projects, unique filmmakers, and new voices that further the mandate of integrity, urgency and specificity set forth by MOONLIGHT.

About Amazon Studios

Amazon Studios creates original television series that premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video which is available globally in over 200 countries and territories. This year, Prime Video recently launched a number of original series, including Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan from Carlton Cuse starring John Krasinski and The Romanoffs from nine-time Emmy Award winner Matthew Weiner. Upcoming series include Homecoming from creator Sam Esmail and starring Julia Roberts and Stephan James, the second season of Emmy Award-winner The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the docuseries Lorena from Executive Producer Jordan Peele.