{"id":153098,"date":"2025-09-18T17:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/153098\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T17:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:41:10","slug":"julie-plec-andre-agassi-team-for-amazon-ya-tennis-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/153098\/","title":{"rendered":"Julie Plec, Andre Agassi Team for Amazon YA Tennis Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>BALLERS Julie Plec grew up playing tennis and remains a big fan; Rally, her YA drama about the sport has court legend Andre Agassi as an EP. (The Ankler illustration; image credits below)<\/p>\n

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I cover TV from L.A. I interviewed ATX TV\u2019s founders<\/a> about buying their festival back from Penske, covered Netflix\u2019s expiring 10-year holds<\/a> on its scripted originals and interviewed Sony TV chief Katherine Pope<\/a> and Wiip CEO Paul Lee<\/a>. I\u2019m lesley.goldberg@theankler.com<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Julie Plec is hitting the court with Andre Agassi.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, one of TV\u2019s top voices and one of tennis\u2019 most beloved stars are teaming up on a new project \u2014 and I have the exclusive scoop on the plans and how they came together, which is why you\u2019re getting a second ping from me in your email inbox this week.<\/p>\n

We Were Liars creator Plec, legendary ace Agassi and fellow former tennis pro Justin Gimelstob are collaborating on Rally, a scripted drama set in the world of an elite tennis academy. Widely considered one of the most charismatic players in the sport, Agassi, now 55, opened up about his difficult childhood at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida in his acclaimed 2009 memoir Open: An Autobiography. The project has been set up in development at Amazon\u2019s Prime Video, which says in a logline shared with me that the show revolves around \u201cambitious young players who discover the loneliest sport in the world demands sacrificing the very connections that might be the only thing that makes winning feel worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>COURT STORY Plec posted on Instagram from the 2025 U.S. Open. (Courtesy of subject)<\/p>\n

Plec, who recently made the trek to see the U.S. Open in New York<\/a>, will write the script and serve as showrunner on Rally. The show hails from Universal Television, where Plec\u2019s My So-Called Company is under an exclusive overall deal. My So-Called Company president Emily Cummins, a former vp drama development executive at Disney\u2019s ABC Studios, will executive produce.<\/p>\n

Related:\"JulieJulie Plec Maps YA\u2019s New Sweet Spot in Streaming: Platform Fit (& No Phones!) <\/a><\/p>\n

Agassi, the former No. 1 ranked tennis star with 60 career ATP Tour singles titles, is also attached as an executive producer on Rally alongside Gimelstob, a former national junior champion who on the adult tour ranked as high as 63rd in the world in singles and 18th in doubles. Entertainment 360\u2019s Guymon Casady, one of Plec\u2019s managers, will also executive produce.<\/p>\n

It was Casady, E360\u2019s founder, who first came up with the idea for Rally after spending time with his two sons at multiple tennis\/sports academies. He partnered with Plec\u2019s shingle, with the Vampire Diaries creator opting to pen the script herself. Casady also executive produces Apple TV+\u2019s recently renewed golf comedy Stick, starring Owen Wilson.<\/p>\n

For Amazon, under another leadership shakeup as head of TV Vernon Sanders\u2019 exits, Rally aligns with the platform\u2019s robust appetite for YA and its investment in a range of sports rights and doc and scripted sports series. Following on Prime Video\u2019s three-season run and newly-announced movie finale for YA hit The Summer I Turned Pretty, Plec\u2019s We Were Liars was renewed for a second season this week. While Plec hasn\u2019t done a sports-centered series before, her deep YA experience plus a love of tennis make this development project a clear fit.<\/p>\n

Unlike any tennis match ever, it\u2019s a win-win.<\/p>\n

Paid subscribers can read on for what Plec earlier revealed to me about this project and how Rally expands her horizons as a creator, plus my take on why Amazon is very smart to stay in the Plec business and align her creative voice with its big plays in sports.<\/p>\n

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Amazon\u2019s noisiest and most scrutinized sports programming is its NFL deal. The retail giant and streamer landed rights to Thursday Night Football in 2021, with the 10-year deal running through 2033 at a price tag of a whopping $10 billion.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s active in all kinds of sports off the gridiron. <\/p>\n