Riz Ahmed Inks First-Look Deal With Amazon (Exclusive)

AMC veteran Allie Moore is joining the actor's Left Handed Films as senior vp, head of television to oversee the company's production and development.

Riz Ahmed's Left Handed Films has signed a first-look TV production deal with Amazon Studios.

The move comes as Ahmed is enjoying rave reviews for his starring role in the Amazon film Sound of Metal.

AMC veteran Allie Moore is joining Left Handed as senior vp, head of television to oversee the company's production and development alongside Ahmed.

Left Handed has several projects on the horizon including Mogul Mowgli, a film co-written, starring and produced by Ahmed that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival where it won the Fipresci International Critics’ Prize and is currently nominated for six BIFA Awards including best screenplay, best actor, best music, best debut screenwriter, best cinematography and best sound. Strand will release the drama in the U.S. this year. Further out is an adaptation of Exit West, the best-seller by Mohsin Hamid for Netflix in partnership with the Obamas' Higher Ground Prods. and Joe and Anthony Russo's AGBO as well as a modern take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in which Ahmed will star.

Before joining Left Handed, Moore served as vp of scripted programming at AMC Studios. She joined AMC in 2013 and championed multiple series including Better Call Saul, Dispatches From Elsewhere, Fear the Walking Dead, Halt & Catch Fire, Lodge 49 and Soulmates. Most recently, she moved to the company’s newly launched externally facing studio, where she worked on projects for the streaming platforms. Prior to AMC, she worked at Gran Via Prods. and for producer Scott Rudin.

“The Sound of Metal campaign has been a brilliant first experience of working with Amazon Studios," Ahmed said. "Their emphasis on creating community between bold creatives, their global reach and their desire to nurture under-served audiences make it the perfect home for Left Handed, whose mission is to stretch culture."

Added Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke: “Riz is a tremendous talent and his vision to amplify stories from fresh and bold perspectives and voices aligns with ours perfectly. We loved working with [him] on Sound of Metal and we’re really excited to continue and build on our relationship with him, Allie and the entire team at Left Handed.”

Ahmed further praised Moore as an executive who "consistently championed bold, character-driven stories, whether from new or established voices.

Amazon's deal with Ahmed is the latest in a string of high-profile pacts for the tech giant. The company also has deals with Nicole Kidman, Lizzo, Jordan Peele, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, among others.

Ahmed, who won a best actor Emmy for HBO's The Night Of, most recently won a Gotham Award for lead actor in Sound of Metal. He recently wrapped production opposite Octavia Spencer on the Amazon sci-fi film Invasion.

He is repped by WME, M88, Gordon & French and the law firm Gang Tyre.