Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge to produce Tomb Raider show at Amazon

A new Tomb Raider TV series is on the way thanks to a partnership between Embracer-owned Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon Prime's foray into the iconic gaming property comes hot on the heels of its success with the Fallout series, and today's announcement only noted one talent signed to the project: Fleabag creator/writer/star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Waller-Bridge is listed as a writer and executive producer here.

"The series, based on the iconic Tomb Raider video game franchise, follows the adventures of world-famous archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft," reads a press release. "The series is produced by Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios, and will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide."

Tomb Raider on TV

There have been a number of Tomb Raider adaptations for film, starting with the early 2000s films starring Angelina Jolie and the more recent 2018 reboot headlined by Alicia Vikander. If Waller-Bridge brings any of the trademark humor (and brutal honesty) of her Fleabag series to Tomb Raider, this could be a very different (and refreshing) take on the adventure property indeed.

The news also shows that Embracer is keen to get in on the current transmedia sweep, particularly for prestige TV and film. Amazon's own Fallout show has been, by all counts, a sweeping success, with a second season in the works. HBO's The Last of Us show, also a huge hit, started the prestige trend, and also has a new season coming (with the potential for more).

If Fallout and The Last of Us are any indication, popular series also see huge bumps in player counts for their associated video game properties—and Embracer was quick to mention a new Tomb Raider game is also in production. The numbers indicate that, increasingly, viewers become players—and players will go back for second helpings of the games after watching the shows.