Erykah Badu (Black Dynamite), Lance Bass (Hell & Back), Hunter Parrish (The Good Wife), Jon Tenney (Scandal) and Jacob Vargas (Sons of Anarchy) to Guest Star in Amazon Original Series Hand of God

Series was created by Ben Watkins (Burn Notice), with select episodes directed by Marc Forster (World War Z), and stars Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy) and Dana Delany (Body of Proof)

Hand of God will premiere later this year exclusively on Prime Instant Video

SEATTLE -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mar. 4, 2015 -- (NASDAQ: AMZN) -- Amazon today announced Erykah Badu (Black Dynamite), Lance Bass (Hell & Back), Hunter Parrish (The Good Wife), Jon Tenney (Scandal) and Jacob Vargas (Sons of Anarchy) will guest star in the highly-anticipated dramatic series Hand of God. The series is currently shooting in the Los Angeles area and will premiere exclusively on Prime Instant Video this fall.

Created by Ben Watkins (Burn Notice), and marking the television debut of renowned filmmaker Marc Forster (World War Z), Hand of God stars Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy) as the honorable justice Pernell Harris. The show centers on Judge Harris, a hard-living, law-bending married man with a high-end call girl on the side, who suffers a mental breakdown and goes on a vigilante quest to find the rapist who tore his family apart. With no real evidence to go on, Pernell begins to rely on "visions" and "messages" he believes are being sent by God through Pernell's ventilator-bound son. Hand of God also stars Dana Delany (Body of Proof) as the Judge's protective wife Crystal Harris, Garret Dillahunt (Justified) as KD, the born-again sociopath whose violent tendencies are exploited by Pernell, Andre Royo (The Wire) as the slick, smart, gregarious, and greedy mayor Robert 'Bobo' Boston, Alona Tal (Burn Notice) as Pernell's grieving daughter-in-law Jocelyn Harris, Julian Morris (Pretty Little Liars) as the questionable preacher Paul Curtis, Elizabeth McLaughlin (Betrayal) as the preacher's sultry girlfriend Alicia, and Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere) as Pernell's call girl and confidante Tessie. Watkins, Forster, Perlman, Brian Wilkins (Lost in America) and Jeff King (White Collar) are Executive Producers, and Jillian Kugler (World War Z) is co-Executive Producer. The pilot episode of Hand of God is rated 9.1/10 on IMDb and available to watch anytime at www.amazon.com/primeinstantvideo.

"We are thrilled to be adding such unique and talented performers to the Hand of God cast," said Ben Watkins. "It's a testament to the work of Marc, Ron and our whole cast and crew. The amazing creative environment that Amazon Studios fosters gives us an opportunity to attract top caliber talent such as Erykah, Lance, Hunter, Jon and Jacob to our mix. Naturally, we're also stoked to have lead vocals covered for the Hand of God touring band."

Erykah Badu as April--A bohemian weed dealer who calls herself the "blend master," April has been Crystal's personal dealer for years and becomes a close confidante. Crystal recruits April to join the Hand of God chapel as an informant so she can be Crystal's eyes and ears in this new religious world with which Pernell has become obsessed. (Recurring)

Lance Bass as Exotic Jerry--An eccentric and irrepressibly enthusiastic face of Jerry's Exotic Fish Store, Exotic Jerry sings an annoyingly catchy jingle in a low budget commercial. The song gets stuck in Pernell's head and sparks a temporary fixation on fish.

Hunter Parrish as Josh--PJ's best friend and former business partner, Josh is solid, trusting, and attractive. Despite his bookish demeanor, Josh's emotional insightfulness and strength of character are exactly what Jocelyn needs to anchor herself when she starts spinning out of control. (Recurring)

Jon Tenney as Nick Tramble--Magnetic, intense, and charming, Nick is Jocelyn's high-powered, expensively dressed attorney who represents her in the case to pull the plug on PJ. He takes the case because he truly believes that pulling the plug is what PJ would have wanted and that it will help Jocelyn move on from this tragedy. He's been in an intense rivalry with Pernell for years, due in no small part to Nick and Crystal's former romantic connection. Nick knows that the most important court to win in is the court of public opinion, which is why his opening arguments are always in front of news cameras. (Recurring)

Jacob Vargas as Julio--A grifter/graffiti artist who went through the police academy with Shane Caldwell, Julio left the force before making it through probation. Since then, he often finds himself on the wrong side of the law. Along with his best friend Shane, Julio has been doing dirty side jobs to earn cash. He isn't a bad guy at heart; he's become hardened and opportunistic over time, and increasingly finds himself in flirting with trouble. Pernell learns Julio was involved with what went down the night of Jocelyn's rape, and may be the key to finding out who ordered the crime. (Recurring)

About Amazon Studios

Hand of God will join other Amazon Original Series that include Bosch, based on Michael Connelly's best-selling books, Mozart in the Jungle, from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Paul Weitz, Jill Soloway's multi-Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy Transparent, along with the second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street and three additional children's series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela C. Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue's Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.

Amazon Studios has also announced eight additional, original series will premiere in 2015 and early 2016 exclusively on Prime Instant Video including Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle, docu-series The New Yorker Presents, Red Oaks, a second season of Transparent, as well as kids series Wishenpoof!, Just Add Magic, and The Stinky & Dirty Show.

In 2015 Amazon Studios will begin to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release, followed by early window distribution on Prime Instant Video.

Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series--one that's open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.

About Prime Instant Video

Amazon Prime members have instant access to stream tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including award-winning Amazon Original Series, available on Prime Instant Video at no additional cost to their membership. In addition, new release movies like Gone Girl, Boyhood and Birdman along with in-season shows like The Walking Dead, Scandal and Better Call Saul are also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Instant Video for all customers to stream and enjoy.

Customers can watch shows and movies with the Amazon Instant Video app. The Amazon Instant Video app is available on hundreds of devices including connected TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as on mobile devices like Fire phone, Fire tablets, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Customers can also watch online at Amazon.com/PIV. Customers can also watch online at Amazon.com/AIV. With the Amazon Instant Video app Prime members can enjoy offline viewing of movies and TV shows--on a plane, on vacation, in the car, and anywhere else where they may not have Wi-Fi.

Amazon Prime members have exclusive access to popular TV series at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members can enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series' airing now such as multi-Golden Globe winning series, Transparent, the hour-long drama, Bosch, based on Michael Connelly's best-selling books, the Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman comedy, Mozart in the Jungle and the political comedy starring John Goodman, Alpha House, in addition to HBO favorites like The Sopranos, True Blood and Six Feet Under, and popular primetime series including 24, Covert Affairs, Downton Abbey, Extant, Falling Skies, Grimm, Hannibal, Justified, Orphan Black, Teen Wolf, The Americans, Under the Dome and Veronica Mars. Prime members also have access to an exclusive collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series' Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street and Tumble Leaf, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue's Clues and The Bubble Guppies.

Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.

About Amazon

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