Comrade Detective, Amazon Studios’ new “one-of-a-kind cop show and comedy set in 1980’s Romania,” will premiere August 4 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the company announced.

The new half-hour live action series, which is a co-production with A24, is presented in Romanian and dubbed in English.

Well-known American actors Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt provide voice over dubbing performances for the series’ two leading roles, detectives Gregor Anghel and Iosef Baciu. Both characters are played on screen by leading Romanian actors Florin Piersic Jr. and Corneliu Ulici.

“In a world of global television it was inevitable that the best comedy of the year would come from Romania. Well that day has come,“ said Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy, Drama and VR at Amazon Studios. “Comrade Detective is unbelievably compelling, visually brilliant, and Gregor and Iosef are the heroes we need. Thanks to A24, Channing Tatum, Rhys Thomas, Brian Gatewood, Alex Tanaka, as well as the incredibly creative team behind this wild new series.”

The series’ action takes place in the 1980’s Romania when, “in the thick of Cold War hysteria, the Romanian government created the country’s most popular and longest-running series, Comrade Detective, a sleek and gritty police show that not only entertained its citizens but also promoted Communist ideals and inspired a deep nationalism,” reads the series’ presentation. “The action-packed and blood-soaked first season finds Detectives Gregor Anghel (played by Piersic) and Iosef Baciu (played by Ulici) investigating the murder of fellow officer Nikita Ionesco and, in the process, unraveling a subversive plot to destroy their country that is fueled by—what else—but the greatest enemy: Capitalism.”

Comrade Detective comes from creators and executive producers Brian Gatewood (The Sitter) and Alex Tanaka (The Sitter) with Rhys Thomas (Documentary Now!) directing and executive producing. Free Association’s Tatum, Reid Carolin (Logan Lucky), Peter Kiernan (Mad Love) and Andrew Schneider are executive producers along with A24’s Ravi Nandan (The Carmichael Show) and John Hodges(Safety Not Guaranteed).

Amazon Prime Video is now available in Romania

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Flickeringmyth.com)