Jean-Claude Van Damme Will Play Himself In New Amazon Action-Comedy Series

Amazon is looking to beef up its original content offer with a new action-comedy series starring none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme.

In something of a stretch, the series, entitled Jean-Claude Van Johnson will feature the cult action star as “a famous actor/martial-arts pro,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, Van Johnson ultimately decides to come out of retirement to assume his alter ego as a “secret black ops private contractor.”

The project marks Van Damme’s first kick at the small screen — though the actor did achieve a wave of viral fame for a Volvo commercial that saw him doing super-zen splits between two moving trucks

. The series has been in the works since 2014, according to the Reporter, when Expendables writer and executive producer Dave Callaham began penning the project. Shooting is slated to begin in May.

The Van Damme series will join Amazon’s slightly higher-brow stable of projects currently in the works, including the distribution of a forthcoming film (and television series) by Woody Allen as well as The New Yorker Presents, a variety series inspired by the illustrious magazine.