Prime Video’s Life Is Strange Taps Karyn Kusama to Direct the First Two Episodes
Karyn Kusama will set the tone for Prime Video’s Life Is Strange, signing on to direct the opening two episodes of the game’s TV adaptation.
Prime Video's Life Is Strange series just leveled up: Karyn Kusama is set to direct the first two episodes. That is a strong signal about tone and intent, and it arrives right on the heels of the casting news.
- Six months ago: Prime Video officially ordered the series
- Two weeks ago: Maisy Stella and Tatum Grace Hopkins signed on to star
- Now: Kusama boards to helm the opening pair of episodes
What the show is
Based on the hit game, the story centers on Max, a photography student who figures out she can rewind time after stopping a tragedy from hitting her childhood best friend, Chloe. While Max tries to wrap her head around the power she just unlocked, the two start digging into the disappearance of a classmate and bump into the rot beneath their small town. It builds to a brutal, life-or-death decision that changes everything.
Roles are locked: Tatum Grace Hopkins plays Max, and Maisy Stella plays Chloe. If you caught Stella in My Old Ass or Hopkins in Meek, you have a sense of their range, which fits this show's emotional whiplash.
Who is making it
Charlie Covell is writing the series, serving as showrunner, and executive producing. The executive producer lineup also includes Dmitri M. Johnson, Michael Lawrence Goldberg, and Timothy I. Stevenson through Story Kitchen. The series is produced by Square Enix, Story Kitchen, LuckyChap, and Amazon MGM Studios.
Why Kusama is a fit
Kusama brings a sharp, uneasy edge that suits a mystery with a supernatural fuse. Her films include Jennifer's Body, The Invitation, Girlfight, Aeon Flux, a segment in the horror anthology XX, and Destroyer. On TV, she has directed episodes of Yellowjackets, Dead Ringers, The Consultant, The Mysterious Benedict Society, In Treatment, The Outsider, Halt and Catch Fire, Billions, The Man in the High Castle, Masters of Sex, Casual, Chicago Fire, and The L Word. Opening a series like this with her sensibility suggests they want character-first tension and a specific mood, not just a plot checklist.
Between the dual leads and the time-twist premise, there is plenty here that can sing on television if the balance lands. Kusama launching the show gives it a real shot. And with Covell steering the ship and that producer bench, the pieces line up for a premiere that actually feels authored rather than assembled.