Motorheads
| Motorheads | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | John A. Norris |
| Showrunner | John A. Norris |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Waz and Jamie Jackson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 48–57 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | May 20, 2025 |
Motorheads is an American coming-of-age drama television series created by John A. Norris. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video on May 20, 2025.[1]
Cast
[edit]Main
[edit]- Ryan Phillippe as Logan Maddox,[2] a former NASCAR driver and an auto body shop owner in Ironwood, Pennsylvania
- Stephen Thomas Kalyn as a young Logan Maddox in flashbacks from 17 years ago
- Nathalie Kelley as Samantha,[2] an ER nurse who moves back to her hometown Ironwood with her teenage son and daughter
- Michael Cimino as Zac,[2] Samantha's son who reluctantly moves to Ironwood from Brooklyn, New York with his mother and twin sister
- Melissa Collazo as Caitlyn,[2] Samantha's daughter and Zac's twin sister who loves fixing up cars
- Uriah Shelton as Curtis,[3] a young mechanic and Caitlyn's love interest
- Nicolas Cantu as Marcel, a nerdy neighbor who befriends the twins
Recurring
[edit]- Josh Macqueen as Harris Bowers,[1][4] an entitled popular teenager whose family own majority of the businesses in Ironwood and the local champion of street racing
- Drake Rodger as Ray,[1][4] Curtis' older brother
- Mia Healey as Alicia Whitaker,[1][4] Harris' on and off girlfriend
- Johnna Dias-Watson as Kiara,[1][4] Alicia's best friend and the closeted daughter of Ironwood's mayor
- Deacon Phillippe as Christian Maddox, Logan's brother in flashbacks from 17 years ago, a legendary, unbeaten champion of street racing. Deacon is Ryan Phillipe's real-life son.
- Dylan Taylor as Vic
- Paul Braunstein as Mr. Ruby, Curtis and Caitlyn's auto shop teacher
- Matt Lanter as Darren,[1][5] Harris' father
- Paul Popowich as Sheriff Hugo, Curtis and Ray's father and the sheriff of Ironwood
- Alex Paxton-Beesley as Kelly, Samantha's former best friend, Kiara's mother, and Ironwood's mayor
- Jordan Dawson as Young Hugo, in flashbacks from 17 years ago
- Romeo Carere as Young Ezra, in flashbacks from 17 years ago
- Audrey Gerthoffer as Brooke, Harris' side piece whose parents are the current owners of Wade's Diner
- Joseph Chiu as Mateo, a local street racer who dissed Harris online and part of Ryan's crew
- Sophia Esperanza as Ryan,[5] a local street racer
- Myles Erlick as Noah
Episodes
[edit]| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Neil Burger | John A. Norris | May 20, 2025 | |
|
Darren Bowders and Christian Maddox race in a street race for an undisclosed beat; Maddox easily wins and leaves. Seventeen years later, teenager twins Caitlyn and Zac Torres move to Ironwood, Pennsylvania, from Brooklyn with their mother Samantha. Ironwood is their mother's birthplace and the twins ask her if she has ever jumped off the bridge entering the town, which she admits. Cate says that she will jump from the bridge too, one day. They stay with uncle Logan, a former NASCAR driver and now owner of an auto body shop. Logan is struggling to make ends meet and is forced to let some of his mechanics go. At school, Cate and Zac quickly meet with their lost father's legend: he was the best street racer in town, until he mysteriously disappeared one day after a heist and a spectacular police chase. Zac befriends Marcel, an "unpopular" boy, and makes an enemy of the local street races champion Harris Bowders over Alicia Whitaker, Harris' on-and-off girlfriend. Meanwhile Cate meets Curtis, a loner caught in the war between his father — the Sheriff — and his criminal brother Ray. At a party at Alicia's home, Harris Bowders throws Curtis' motorbike in a lake and Curtis steals Harris' Corvette, which he had taken without his father knowing, and takes it to his brother's chop shop. Back from the party, the twins, Curtis and Marcel decide to repair their father's Dodge Charger, the UNB10, which Logan has been keeping in his garage since decades. | |||||
| 2 | "Glow" | Neil Burger | John A. Norris | May 20, 2025 | |
|
Past. Christian Maddox is being chased in a car, inside there are three other people. Present. At the local junk yard, Zac practices off-road driving on Dottie, an old and battered car which everyone at Ironwood has learnt to drive on. The junk yard keeper, Buzz, says that Zac has to learn whether he is a 'hit-the-gas' or a 'hit-the-brakes' kind of person. Ray asks Logan to be his crew's driver for a dirty job that night, but Logan declines. At school, Harris has been seized his car keys by his father, so Alicia has to pick him up. Curtis helps Cate with the UNB10 and asks Ray for some parts. Ray laments that Curtis' list is expensive since those are all vintage parts and wants Curtis to help him with his 'job' in exchange. At the annual Fireflies Festival, Cate takes a leap of faith with Curtis and Kiara, the closeted mayor's daughter, takes a leap with Cate; Marcel unveils his new personal logo; and Zac loses in a street race, also blowing up Marcel's car's engine. Meanwhile Ray and his gang try to rob the town's shops taking advantage of the town's lights being off for the festival, but they only manage to rob one shop when police sirens are heard. The next morning, Curtis comes back home to his father Hugo telling him of the heist and asking about his whereabouts. Curtis denies having been involved and asks back if he knew Christian Maddox. Past. Hugo was in the car with Christian. Present. Ray and his gang find Logan and smash his vintage Ford Mustang for calling the cops. Cate, Zac, Curtis and Marcel jump off the bridge near the town as they had agreed upon that day. Marcel is still angry at Zac for blowing up his car. One of the guy's necklace sinks in the river, and Christian's car from the chase is shown landing at the bottom. | |||||
| 3 | "Assessment" | Ryan Zaragoza | John A. Norris | May 20, 2025 | |
| 4 | "Disassemble" | Ryan Zaragoza | Adrian Dukes | May 20, 2025 | |
| 5 | "Value" | Rebecca Rodriguez | Kenny Neibart | May 20, 2025 | |
| 6 | "Reassemble" | Rebecca Rodriguez | Carrie Gutenberg & Obiageli Odimegwu | May 20, 2025 | |
| 7 | "Red, Green, Blue" | Tara Nicole Weyr | Wendy Straker Hauser | May 20, 2025 | |
| 8 | "Wiring" | Tara Nicole Weyr | John A. Norris | May 20, 2025 | |
| 9 | "Ignition" | Glen Winter | John A. Norris | May 20, 2025 | |
| 10 | "Redbird" | Glen Winter | John A. Norris | May 20, 2025 | |
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]The series was commissioned by Amazon Prime Video in November 2023. It is written by John A. Norris who is also the series showrunner and executive producer. Jason Seagraves also executive produces. It is produced by Jax Media and Amazon MGM Studios.[2] Dana Brunetti and Keegan Rosenberger are executive producers and Jake Fuller is executive producer on behalf of Jax Media. Ruben Fleischer is director for the pilot and Ryan Zaragoza is co-executive producer.[6] In March 2024, Neil Burger joined as director, replacing Fleischer, and executive producer.[7] Waz and Jamie Jackson are composing the series' score.[8]
Casting
[edit]The cast includes Ryan Phillippe, Nathalie Kelley, Michael Cimino and Melissa Collazo. In December 2023, Uriah Shelton joined the cast,[3] with Drake Rodger, Johnna Dias-Watson, Josh Macqueen and Mia Healey joining in recurring roles.[4] In May 2024, Matt Lanter and Sophia Esperanza were cast in recurring roles.[5] In April 2025 in a press release from Amazon MGM Studios, Nicolas Cantu was confirmed to be promoted to a main role.[1]
Filming
[edit]Filming was scheduled to commence from July-November 2023, but was delayed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[9] Production officially began on March 25, 2024, in Toronto, Canada.[10][11] In April 2024, parts of filming took place in Hamilton, Ontario in the Carlisle and Flamborough neighborhoods,[12] and began filming in downtown Paris, Ontario locally on April 16, being first of five visits until July. Next filing took place in Chatsworth, Ontario, at a Motopark. Filming also took place at Penman's Dam Park and Bean Park in Brant, Ontario,[13] and at the historic Blackfriars Bridge in London.[14] Filming concluded on July 22, 2024.[11][15][16]
Release
[edit]The series premiered on May 20, 2025, with all ten episodes.[1]
Reception
[edit]The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 78% approval rating based on 9 critic reviews.[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 58 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average".[18]
Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter described the series as "Life-changing stuff, this isn't, even if the characters do like to throw around knowingly cheesy metaphors about hitting the gas in romance as well as on the road. It's just sturdy, reliable entertainment — well worth putting down your phone for and taking for a proper spin."[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "Hit The Gas! Prime Video Releases Premiere Date and First-Look Images for Electrifying New YA Drama Motorheads". Amazon MGM Studios (Press release). April 4, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Cordero, Rosy (November 21, 2023). "John A. Norris' 'Motorheads' Starring Ryan Phillippe, Nathalie Kelley, Michael Cimino & Melissa Collazo Ordered To Series At Prime Video". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (December 6, 2023). "'Motorheads': Uriah Shelton Boards Prime Video Series From John A. Norris". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Cordero, Rosy (December 7, 2023). "'Motorheads' Adds Drake Rodger, Johnna Dias-Watson, Josh Macqueen & Mia Healey". Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ a b c Cordero, Rosy (May 1, 2024). "'Motorheads' Adds Matt Lanter & Sophia Esperanza In Recurring Roles". Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ Manfredi, Lucas (November 22, 2023). "'Motorheads' Starring Ryan Phillippe Ordered to Series at Prime Video". The Wrap. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ Kit, Borys (March 28, 2024). "Neil Burger Tapped to Direct Episodes of Prime Video Drama 'Motorheads' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ "Waz & Jamie Jackson Scoring Prime Video's 'Motorheads'". Film Music Reporter. May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Dewan, Gerry (April 18, 2024). "The bright lights are shining on a familiar London landmark this week". ctvnews.ca. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ "DGC". Directors Guild of Canada.
- ^ a b Gittins, Susan (March 25, 2024). "Prime's MOTORHEADS With Ryan Phillippe Starts Shooting in Toronto". Hollywood North Buzz. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ "'Motorheads' TV show filming in Carlisle April 15-16". FlamboroughToday. April 9, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ Percy-Beauregard, Celeste (April 14, 2024). "Amazon show 'Motorheads' gears up to shoot in downtown Paris". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ Blackfriars Bridge gets the Hollywood treatment in filming of Amazon Prime series
- ^ Lucas, Taylor (February 29, 2024). "These are the TV shows & movies filming in Toronto this spring". Curiocity. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ "In Production". Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Motorheads: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
- ^ "Motorheads: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ Han, Angie (May 19, 2025). "'Motorheads' Review: Ryan Phillippe in Amazon's Surprisingly Sweet Teen Grease Monkey Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
