With the pilot episode due to scurry onto Amazon today, August 19, Entertainment Weekly has unleashed a pair of clips for the studio’s revival of The Tick, placing Peter Serafinowicz in the oversized shoes of the loopy blue superhero.
Flanked by Griffin Newman (Vinyl), Valorie Curry (House of Lies), Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin) and Brendan Hines (Scorpion), these snippets tee up the dynamic between The Tick and Newman’s Arthur, who is central to Amazon’s long-awaited reboot series.
That’s according to Ben Edlund, the brains behind the larger-than-life character. In helping to bring The Tick to the small-screen, Edlund was conscious of injecting a distinctly human element into the drama to counter the otherworldly elements.
He’s the main character. He’s the one who has the arc. He’s the one who gives us the shoes you wear to pass through this universe. In the previous live-action, there really wasn’t the time taken to build what is usually a compelling main character story. So I mean The Tick is no less an important character than Arthur — he’s titular — but it was really important to take this human character seriously and give us a chance to really bond with him and be with him emotionally and then have him encounter the strangest entity in his universe.
The Tick premieres on Amazon today, August 19. Cinematographer and film director Wally Pfister (Transcendence) is behind the maiden installment.