Los Angeles: In the more than 50 years of his career, Al Pacino hasn't made much television. But Pacino wanted in for Amazon Nazi-hunting series Hunters as he found the idea quite "original."
Written by its series creator David Weil, the tale follows a group of New Yorkers trying to root out a Nazi conspiracy in 1977 America.
Weil wrote the series in homage to his grandmother, who was a holocaust survivor.
"The writer had some, really had something to say here," Pacino said at the series premiere in Los Angeles, Wednesday (20 FEBRUARY 2020). "Personal, funny, interesting, mainly different. So, I got to meet him, David Weil, and I really enjoyed being with him. The whole series, I enjoyed being with him. I mean, he's right there. If you have any problems, he's right there to right it. It's just like that. It's in him."
Oscar-winner Jordan Peele was also intrigued by the idea, and joined the Hunters team as an executive producer.
He says that like his acclaimed Get Out, the series will prove timely, even if it is set more than 40 years ago.
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"Well, I think that there's a catharsis that comes with this show," explained Peele. "There was this moment when, you know, 'Get Out' was about to come outl, it felt like there was something happening in the ether. It felt like there was a certain illumination coming to this issue of racism. I think this idea of Nazis in America embedded in our system is one that is very, hits very close to home right now. And so, I feel like there's - when David pitched me this show, when I read this, I felt a similar moment as the moment that when Get Out hit."
Pacino agrees audiences will connect with the show.
"I think it has this sort of interesting potpourri of things happening. Sometimes it's very funny. Sometimes it's tongue in cheek. Sometimes it's actually horrifying. And then it's tragic. And then it's strange," said Pacino. "It's an original."
Logan Lerman stars as one of the leading Nazi killers. He explained the center of the show is the questioning of morality and the notion of revenge.
"In order to fight the bad guys, do you have to become the bad guy yourself? Do you have to become evil to fight evil? And I think it's a tough question to answer. And we explore it in the series," he said.
Hunters premieres in more than 200 countries and territories on Prime Video February 21, 2020.
With inputs from APTN
