Amazon Greenlights Unscripted Motorsports Series ‘Gymkhana Files’

Amazon has greenlit The Gymkhana Files, an unscripted original series featured motorsports star Ken Block about the making of Gymkhana 10, the tenth installment of his Gymkhana Film series. The eight-episode series will be “an exclusive look behind the filming, the struggles and the personalities that go into making of one of the biggest viral campaigns of all time, along with the untold stories and never-before-seen footage from Block’s previous nine films,” says Amazon.

Block is a professional rally driver with Hoonigan Racing Division. The Gymkhana series, featuring Block and his daredevil driving skills, has amassed over 500 million views, according to Amazon.

“The inner workings of the wildly popular Gymkhana Film series have long been a mystery to its large and rabid fan base, and we are thrilled to provide Amazon Prime members worldwide with an exclusive look into the making of Gymkhana 10,” said Heather Schuster, new head of unscripted, Amazon Originals. “Ken and the Hoonigan team will take viewers on a wild ride unlike anything they’ve seen before.”

The series is created and executive produced by Block, Brian Scotto and Gil Marsden,and produced by Hoonigan Media Machine. Marsden is the showrunner.

“I've always taken great pride at being on the leading edge of creating content, as well as viral marketing and in figuring out the best ways to get that content into the hands of fans and consumers,” said Block. “Amazon is very similar in their approach to what they've done over the years and I think that together we're going to create some amazing programming that really gives fans and viewers insight into not just my world, but the inner workings of my Gymkhana films. At the end of it all, the fans get to watch Gymkhana 10 during the final episode."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.