Pilot 

A famous action movie hero and martial arts star comes out of retirement to assume his alter ego as undercover private contractor named Jean-Claude Van Johnson. He must also deal with aging and his handler Vanessa, the ex he still loves.

Director:

Peter Atencio

Writer:

Dave Callaham

Stars:

Kat Foster, Moises Arias, Phylicia Rashad

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Kat Foster	...	Vanessa
Moises Arias	...	Luis
Phylicia Rashad	...	Jane
Bar Paly	...	Krisztina
Tim Peper	...	Gunnar
Ian Fisher	...	Andrei
Deren Tadlock	...	Victor
Kevin Michael Walsh	...	Dri Ramen Waiter
Tait Fletcher	...	Pap Finn
Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Filip (as Filip Van Damme)
Stacey Danger	...	PA
Chris Palermo	...	KSL Worker #1
Daniel Hernandez	...	KSL Worker #2
Alice Tate	...	Leggy Model (as Alice Haig)

Storyline

A famous action movie hero and martial arts star comes out of retirement to assume his alter ego as undercover private contractor named Jean-Claude Van Johnson. He must also deal with aging and his handler Vanessa, the ex he still loves.

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Plot Keywords:

dry raman | reference to val kilmer | rear female nudity | reference to channing tatum | man doing a split | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

The series filmed in Los Angeles, which doubled for Bulgaria, which in the film-within-a-film is doubling for the Mississippi River. The designers leaned heavily on Eastern Bloc architecture: blocky, harsh gray structures with the Cyrillic alphabet on the signage.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jean-Claude Van Damme: My name is Jean-Clade Van Damme. I used to be super famous. Perhaps you remember my first starring role in Bloodsport. It is on television all of the time. Or maybe you've seen Timecop, which is like Looper starring Bruce Willis, but like a million times better.

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Connections

References Looper (2012)

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Soundtracks

Electric Empire
(uncredited)
Written by Huw Williams, Bruce Fingers, and Billie Ray Fingers

User Reviews

New favorite show. This is not what you think it is.

Going into Jean-Claude Van Johnson I was extremely worried and critical. I am a huge Jean- Claude Van Damme fan but I'm honest enough to say he's made some real stinkers. I knew he could be really funny and from Expendables 2 and JCVD, I knew he has some serious acting chops. But a comedy series starring him? I was so worried it was going to be a Seth Rogen/Adam Sandler-esque comedy with fart jokes and bad puns. This is nothing like that, the writing is brilliant. I was blown away by the spot-on parody of 80s/90s action movies and of the current PC culture and current Hollywood movies. The writing is so smart… Thats what surprised me the most. Secondly, Van Damme is hilarious. He plays a perfect parody of himself, everything he says/does reminds me of the '80s Van Damme. He is absolutely hilarious and also they gave him some awesome fight scenes that are better than any of his direct to video action movies and showcase his vintage moves. Lastly, the show is masterfully shot, this could easily be a high caliber HBO series. Great cinematography, which can be taken for granted. Also, have to say something about the girl who plays his love interest, Vanessa. Man was she funny, she also stole the show. You can tell she must have watched a lot of action movies back in the day or something because she plays her role masterfully and hilariously. "He spinning back heel kicked his way into my heart." was probably my favorite line, she was fantastic. Everything about this show was fantastic, if you're a JCVD fan or a hater, either way you will love this show, trust me. Absolutely blown away, 10-10 rating. I pray this gets picked up as a series.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 2016 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amazon Studios, Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1