Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the creative minds behind "Gossip Girl" and co-founders of "Fake Empire", have signed a two-year first-look television deal with Amazon MGM Studios. As part of the agreement, the duo is already developing a new, high-gloss drama centered around the iconic fashion retailer Barneys New York.
The untitled series will be set against the glamorous yet cutthroat backdrop of Barneys' return to Manhattan. As the legendary department store reopens its doors, tensions flare between the fashion elite and the staff working behind the scenes, weaving a story rich in ambition, secrets, and style.
"Amazon Prime Video is an exciting and dynamic place to be working right now, led by great, smart executives who are focused on delivering compelling, commercially driven storytelling. We're thrilled to embark on Sterling Point alongside producing partners LuckyChap and co-showrunner and creator Megan Park, as well as the opportunity to create new series designed to resonate with a global audience," Schwartz and Savage said.
This new drama marks the first project under Schwartz and Savage's new pact with Amazon MGM, where they're also collaborating on "Sterling Point", a series from "My Old Ass" writer/director Megan Park and produced by LuckyChap.
Barneys, once a pillar of luxury retail in New York since its founding in 1923, shuttered its physical stores after being acquired by Authentic Brands Group. Though its brick-and-mortar locations are gone, the Barneys name lives on through a partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue, its own beauty line, and recent ventures like a pop-up store in SoHo.
The series is being developed for Prime Video, with Schwartz and Savage serving as both creators and showrunners. It will be executive produced by Susan Rovner through her new company Aha Studios, alongside former Warner Bros. TV executive Rachel Kaplan of Absecon Entertainment, and Matthew Gross and Colin Smeeton of Authentic Studios.
The collaboration reunites Schwartz and Savage with Rovner and Kaplan, who were part of the executive team at Warner Bros. TV during Gossip Girl's original run. That show famously embraced Barneys as part of its storytelling, featuring a Blair Waldorf pop-up and name-dropping Barneys among her beloved "three Bs: Barneys, Bendels, and Bergdorfs." Real-life designers like Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Vera Wang, and Diane von Furstenberg even made appearances, helped in part by the creators' successful push to film in New York rather than Los Angeles.
Nick Pepper, Head of US SVOD TV Development and Series at Amazon MGM Studios, praised the partnership, saying, "We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage of Fake Empire. Their dedication to excellence makes them the perfect creative partners for developing exceptional new content for our global Prime Video customers. We look forward to collaborating with them on engaging stories, including the Untitled Barneys New York Project, based on the iconic New York City clothing store, as well as the recently ordered Sterling Point."
Schwartz and Savage have a long history of high-profile overall and first-look deals with major studios, including Warner Bros. TV, Disney, CBS Studios, and Apple. Their past successes span "The O.C.", "Hart of Dixie", "Dynasty", "Nancy Drew", Hulu's "Runaways", and "Looking for Alaska". They're also currently developing a "Clueless" reboot at Peacock.
Tags: josh schwartz, stephanie savage, barneys, amazon mgm studios, gossip girl
