In January 2019, a digital service launched under the name IMDb Freedive that promised to deliver movies and television shows without a monthly subscription fee, relying entirely on advertising revenue to fund its operations. This model represented a radical shift in the streaming landscape, as most competitors at the time demanded a direct payment from consumers for access to their libraries. The service was initially available only in the United States, but it quickly expanded its reach to the United Kingdom and Germany, making its content accessible through Amazon's websites and all Amazon Fire devices. By the time the service rebranded to IMDb TV five months later, it had already begun signing major deals with Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment, and MGM Studios, setting the stage for a massive expansion of its content library. The rebranding to Amazon Freevee on the 28th of April 2022, marked a significant milestone in the service's evolution, as it sought to integrate more deeply with Amazon's broader ecosystem of entertainment services.
Judging Justice and Leverage
The service's first major exclusive series, a revival of the 2008 crime drama Leverage, was ordered by IMDb TV in 2020, signaling a bold move into original programming. This decision was followed by the acquisition of the Canadian animated series Corner Gas Animated, which premiered on the 3rd of October 2019, and joined the live-action comedy franchise Corner Gas and the feature film Corner Gas: The Movie on the platform. The service also acquired the rights to Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television's young-adult espionage series Alex Rider, which premiered on the 13th of November 2020. A significant moment occurred on the 29th of October 2020, when Amazon Studios announced that it would premiere a new court show on IMDb TV starring Judith Sheindlin, serving as a spiritual successor to her syndicated Judge Judy. The new series, Judy Justice, premiered on the 1st of November 2021, with an initial order of 120 episodes for its first season. In March 2022, Amazon renewed Judy Justice for a second season, and the first season had recorded over 25 million hours of viewership, making it IMDb TV's most-watched original series. In 2023, the service premiered a spin-off series executive-produced by Sheindlin, Tribunal Justice.The Rise of Original Content
On the 22nd of February 2021, it was announced that Norman Lear had set up two projects at IMDb TV, half-hour long comedy Clean Slate and hour-long drama Loteria, further expanding the service's original content offerings. The service also announced that a spinoff of the Prime Video series Bosch, titled Bosch: Legacy, would premiere on the service on the 6th of May 2022, and that the coming-of-age series High School, based on the memoir by Tegan and Sara and adapted by Clea DuVall, would premiere in 2022. It was also announced that the service would add original films to its slate, beginning with the romantic comedy Love Accidentally, starring Brenda Song and Aaron O'Connell. In May 2022, Bosch: Legacy and Top Class were both renewed, and in April 2022, Amazon Freevee announced that it had ordered Beyond Black Beauty, the unscripted series America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation and Play-Doh: Squished, renewals for Bosch: Legacy and Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers, and the music documentary Post Malone: Runaway.