Prime Video to Premiere Amazon Original Series Poacher, Produced by QC Entertainment, on February 23
Poacher is executive produced by Oscar-winning production company QC Entertainment and marks QC’s first foray into television; The crime drama is created, written, and directed by Emmy-Award winning filmmaker Richie Mehta
A compelling investigative crime series that unearths the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history,
the fast-paced eight-episode scripted series features a diverse and versatile cast, including Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya in pivotal roles
Poacher will be available to stream on Prime Video in India and across 240 countries and territories worldwide, on February 23
MUMBAI, India—January 16, 2024—Prime Video, India’s most loved entertainment destination, announced the premiere of Amazon Original crime series Poacher, the first ever television series produced by QC Entertainment, the Oscar-winning production and finance company responsible for feature film hits such as Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. Financed by QC Entertainment, Poacher has been created, written and directed by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Richie Mehta, and boasts of a diverse and talented cast comprising Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya in pivotal roles. The first three episodes of the eight-episode series premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it received highly positive appreciation from the viewers. Poacher is set to premiere exclusively on Prime Video in India and across more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on February 23. The crime series is the latest addition to the Prime membership. Prime members in India enjoy savings, convenience, and entertainment, all in a single membership, for just ₹1499/ year.
Based on court documents and testimonials, Poacher is a fictional dramatization of events that transpired in the dense forests of Kerala and the concrete jungle of Delhi. The series showcases the immense contributions made by Indian forest service officers, NGO workers from the Wildlife Trust of India, police constables, and good samaritans who risked their lives to investigate the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. To uphold the story’s authenticity, Poacher has been filmed in the real-life settings in Kerala and New Delhi, and unfolds primarily in Malayalam, Hindi and English.
“We want to bring unique and authentic stories that have the power to initiate social and cultural conversations. Poacher, which is based on an extraordinary true story, is one such ambitious endeavor to explore the meaning of justice, in a context never seen before on screen,” said Manish Menghani, director, content licensing, Prime Video India. “We are thrilled to present this investigative crime series—which has been deeply researched, powerfully conceptualized and masterfully directed by Richie Mehta—on our service. Poacher promises to engage the audiences within India as well as across the world with its fascinating, edge-of-the-seat narrative, and compel us as human beings to introspect how our actions can have an irrevocable impact on the environment. This narrative based on true events, has the power to make viewers aware, and inspire communities to take action.”
“After putting the last four years into exploring the themes and characters in this complex world of crime fighting, and the extraordinarily high stakes involved, I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Prime Video to take Poacher to a worldwide audience,” said creator, director, and writer Richie Mehta. “Working with the team at QC Entertainment has been a dream come true, from a creative, logistical, and emotional standpoint, as was collaborating with our actors, crew, and the real subjects on which this series is inspired by. The team at Prime Video demonstrated from the moment they saw our blood, sweat, and tears on screen not only that they understand what we’ve put into this, but that they have the excitement and commitment to take this to the world.”
“When we saw Delhi Crime, we knew immediately Richie was a filmmaker we wanted to work with. We saw in that show his ability as a storyteller to keep us on the edge of our seats while also dealing intelligently and empathetically with sensitive issues, particularly in light of adapting true stories,” added QC Entertainment’s principals Edward H. Hamm Jr., Raymond Mansfield, and Sean McKittrick. “When he pitched us his idea for Poacher we immediately connected with the story, its intentions and the visceral ambition. It’s everything we look for: A filmmaker with a vision, a story with something to say, and a collaborator who embraces the audience as the reason to make entertainment. To now have Prime Video on board to showcase the series is a perfect scenario. We could instantly feel the Prime Video team’s passion for the show and believe that through its reach, we will be able to take this important story to audiences all around the world.”
Poacher is executive produced by QC Entertainment’s Edward H. Hamm Jr., Raymond Mansfield and Sean McKittrick. Alan McAlex (Suitable Boy) serves as producer for Suitable Pictures. Also from Delhi Crime are Director of Photography Johan Aidt, composer Andrew Lockington and editor Beverley Mills.
XXX
ABOUT PRIME VIDEO
Prime Video is a premium streaming service that offers Prime members a collection of award-winning Amazon Original series, thousands of movies and TV shows—all with the ease of finding what they love to watch in one place.
Prime Video is just one of the many benefits of a Prime membership, available for just ₹1499/ year. Amazon Prime is designed to make your life better every single day as it provides the best of shopping, savings, and entertainment in one single membership. In India, members get Free Same-day/1-day delivery on eligible items, access to exclusive deals, early access to shopping events, exclusive access to our global shopping event Prime Day; and unlimited access to award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Video, unlimited access to more than 100 million songs, ad-free and millions of podcast episodes with Amazon Music, a free rotating selection of more than 3,000 books, magazines and comics with Prime Reading, access to monthly free-in game and benefits with Prime Gaming. Prime members can also earn unlimited 5% cashback on all purchases on Amazon.in using the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card i.e., Co-Branded Credit Card (CBCC) as compared to 3% for customers without Prime membership. Go to www.amazon.in/prime to learn more about Prime.
ABOUT QC ENTERTAINMENT
Films produced/executive produced by the principals of QC Entertainment have garnered 12 Academy Award® nominations (including 2 wins and back-to-back Best Picture nominations), 7 Golden Globe nominations, 7 BAFTA nominations, 2 back-to-back AFI Awards for ‘Movie of the Year,’ nominations from all guilds (including DGA, WGA, SAG, and PGA incl. the PGA’s Stanley Kramer Award), along with dozens of other award nominations including from The National Board of Review, The Independent Spirit Awards and the Critics Choice Awards, amongst many more, and have premiered at the world’s most prestigious film festivals including Cannes, Toronto, Sundance and SXSW. QC’s latest feature It Lives Inside — a horror-thriller from filmmaker Bishal Dutta — won the Midnighters Audience Award at SXSW 2023 and was released by Neon in September 2023.
Included with Prime Video: Thousands of acclaimed TV shows and movies across languages and geographies, including Indian films such as Shershaah, Soorarai Pottru, Sardar Udham, Bawaal, Gehraiyaan, Jai Bhim, Jalsa, Shakuntala Devi, Sherni, Narappa, Sarpatta Parambarai, Kuruthi, Joji, Malik, and #HOME, along with Indian-produced Amazon Original series like Farzi, Jubilee, Dahaad, The Family Man, Mirzapur, Made in Heaven, Jee Karda, Adhura, Four More Shots Please!, Mumbai Diaries 26/11, Suzhal – The Vortex, Sweet Kaaram Coffee, Modern Love, Paatal Lok, Bandish Bandits, Cinema Marte Dum Tak, AP Dhillon: First of a Kind and Amazon Original movies like Maja Ma and Ammu. Also included are popular global Amazon Originals like Citadel, The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, Reacher, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Boys, Hunters, Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Wheel of Time and many more, available for unlimited streaming as part of a Prime membership. Prime Video includes content across Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Bengali.
Prime Video Mobile Edition: Consumers can also enjoy Prime Video’s exclusive content library with Prime Video Mobile Edition at ₹599 per year. This single-user, mobile-only annual video plan offers everyone access to high-quality entertainment exclusively on their mobile devices. Users can sign-up for this plan via the Prime Video app (on Android) or website.
Instant Access: Prime Members can watch anywhere, anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV, and multiple gaming devices. Prime Video is also available to consumers through Airtel and Vodafone pre-paid and post-paid subscription plans. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost.
Enhanced experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD- and High Dynamic Range (HDR)-compatible content. Go behind the scenes of your favourite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing.
Video Entertainment Marketplace: In addition to a Prime Video subscription, customers can also purchase add-on subscriptions to other streaming services, as well as, get rental access to movies on Prime Video.
Prime Video Channels: Prime Video Channels offers friction-free and convenient access to a wide range of premium content from multiple video streaming services all available at a single destination – Prime Video website and apps. Prime Members can buy add-on subscriptions and enjoy a hassle-free entertainment experience, simplified discovery, frictionless payments, and more.
Rent: Consumers can enjoy even more movies from new releases to classic favourites, available to rent – no Prime membership required. View titles available by visiting primevideo.com/store. The rental destination can be accessed via the STORE tab on primevideo.com and the Prime Video app on Android smart phones, smart-TVs, connected STBs, and Fire TV stick.