Riz Ahmed prepares Prime Video comedy series

Riz Ahmed will produce, write and star in a yet-to-be-titled half-hour comedy series for Prime Video.

Emmy winner Ben Karlin (Modern Family, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show) serves as executive producer and will co-direct the show with Ahmed.

The series follows Shah Latif, “an actor who is on the verge of landing the role of a lifetime, only to find himself simultaneously in a full-blown existential crisis and a trippy conspiracy thriller.”

The show marks Ahmed’s return to television following his double Emmy nomination in 2017 as a guest star for “Girls” and as a lead actor for “The Night Of,” which he won.

The series was created by Ahmed and developed by his production company Left Handed as part of a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios.

“I’ve wanted to tell this story for a long time. It’s personal, brave and a lot of fun. It feels so good to now be writing and creating it with this incredible team,” said Riz Ahmed.

“Riz Ahmed is a gifted writer, actor and producer, and his passion has inspired us,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television at Amazon MGM Studios. “Led by Riz and the hilarious Ben Karlin, and led by Rola Bauer’s pan-English team, this series is sure to delight and make our Prime Video customers worldwide laugh.”

The show’s executive producers are Ahmed and Allie Moore for Left Handed and Jake Fuller on behalf of Jax Media. Ben Karlin will executive produce and run the show with Ahmed. Roopesh Parekh (Willow, His Dark Materials) will also serve as an executive producer. The series is produced by Jax Media and Amazon MGM Studios.

In addition to Ahmed, the writers include playwright and television veteran Dipika Guha (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Black Monday,” “Sneaky Pete”), Patriot Act creator Prashanth Venkataramanujam, Karen Joseph Adcock (“The Bear,” “Swarm,” “Yellow Jackets,” “Atlanta”), Azam Mahmood (“Industry,” “Ramy”) and novelist Fatima Farheen Mirza.

Jon Creamer

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