Guardians Of The Galaxy Director Rebooting Classic Cop Show Starsky & Hutch

The classic cop show Starsky & Hutch is returning to TV screens. It has been confirmed that Amazon has acquired the reboot of the much-loved '70s show, which will be produced by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

As reported by Variety, Amazon will partner with Sony Pictures to produce the new Starsky & Hutch. Sony's involvement in the show's development was first announced last week, but the Amazon deal includes a script-to-series commitment, ensuring that it will screen on the streaming service.

Gunn is set to produce the show alongside his brother Brian and cousin Mark, who will also write the series. In a statement, Gunn said, "When I was a kid, Starsky & Hutch was the first 'adult' show I ever saw, and I fell in love. It instilled in me a lifelong love of gritty street shows, of killer '70s threads, and muscle cars. So when Neal Mortiz asked me if I wanted to be a part of an all new Starsky & Hutch on TV, I was instantly intrigued.

"I teamed up with the two writers I trusted most in the world to work with us, my brother Brian Gunn and my cousin Mark Gunn, and together we came up with a show that I'm really proud of. At Amazon I believed we would have the most freedom to create something that is different, challenges the audience, and that strays outside the parameters of genre from time to time."

The original Starsky & Hutch aired for 93 episodes between 1975 and 1979. It starred David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser as the two Southern California cops of the title, and was also known for characters such as the streetwise informant Huggy Bear and no-nonsense boss Captain Dobey. There was a movie reboot in 2004, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, plus a tie-in video game released the previous year.