Prime Video has secured the rights to Embassy, the six-part action-thriller series led by Anna Kendrick, Sam Heughan and J.K. Simmons. The streamer picked up the show for the UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand, adding another high-profile international title to its slate.
The series is set to launch next year and is being produced by AGC Television, Ascendant Fox and Turbine Studios. AGC International is handling worldwide sales, while Hannah Blyth of Prime Video’s UK acquisitions team licensed the title for Amazon.
Production has already begun
Filming has started in Cologne and London, putting the project into motion as the cast continues to grow. The latest additions include Aleksandar Jovanovic, Lydia Leonard, Mitya Savelau, Hasan Akil, James Murray, Luke Treadaway, Stephen Odubola, Katie McGrath, Alexander Karim and Natalie Mendoza.
Their arrival expands a lineup that had already drawn attention when Kendrick and Simmons were first announced for the project. Heughan joined soon after, giving the series a trio of familiar names anchored around the thriller’s central conflict.
The story follows Layla, played by Kendrick, an American diplomat who faces a dangerous decision after armed mercenaries attack the U.S. Embassy in London. She must choose between protecting the U.S. Ambassador, played by Simmons, or carrying out his order to extract a high-value asset.
A geopolitical thriller with a tightly wound premise
The project has been positioned as a geopolitical thriller built around pressure, loyalty and survival during a crisis. Layla is forced to depend on her instincts and the help of her ex-fiancé, Connor Wright, a battle-hardened operative played by Heughan.
That setup gives the series a contained but urgent frame, with much of the tension centered on the hours before extraction. The format also fits the six-episode structure, which suggests a fast-moving story rather than a long-form procedural.
Creative team behind the series
Embassy comes from writer and creator Rom Lotan. John Strickland and Christian Alvart are directing the series for AGC Television, which is the TV arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios.
Executive producers include Lotan and Strickland, along with Hester Ruoff, Bart Ruspoli and Matt Mitchell from Ascendant Fox. Also attached as executive producers are Daniel Hetzer, Jakob Neuhausser, Justin Thomson and David Tanner for Turbine, plus AGC’s Ford, Lourdes Diaz and Miguel A. Palos Jr.
The project also has financial backing from AGC and BondIt Media Capital, which co-finance the series. That support helped build momentum around the title before the Prime Video deal was announced.
Amazon expands its scripted team
The licensing move arrives shortly after Amazon said it had hired Oliver Jones, formerly an Apple TV commissioner, as Senior Commissioner for UK Scripted. He is due to start in May and will return from Los Angeles to London for the role.
Jones will work closely with Nicole Clemens, the company’s VP of International Originals, as Amazon continues to strengthen its scripted strategy in the UK market. The timing adds context to Prime Video’s pickup of Embassy, which now has both a growing cast and a major streaming home in key international territories.
