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Tag: Alpha House

  • Alpha House Season 2 Now Available

    Alpha House Season 2 Now Available

    As promised, Doonesbury creator Gary Trudeau’s comedy Alpha House‘s second season is now available in its entirety

    The Amazon original series stars John Goodman, Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson, and Matt Malloy. Alpha House was the first original series from Amazon Studios – premiering last April.

    “Delivering hilarious insider insights from the master of political satire, the new season of Alpha House finds the Senators maneuvering the hallways of Capitol Hill with a looming midterm election and an unclear political future. Republican Senators Biggs (Goodman), Bettencourt (Johnson) and Laffer (Malloy), having survived bruising primaries, are facing strong Democratic challengers and will use every trick in the book to woo voters on the road to re-election. Meanwhile, Senator Guzman (Consuelos) prepares for a 2016 bid for the presidency,” says Amazon.

    Season two is also full of big-name guest stars, including Bill Murray, Penn Jillette, Andy Cohen, Matt Lauer, John McCain, Wolf Blitzer, Rachel Maddow, and George Stephanopoulos.

    “We’re very excited to bring a second season of Alpha House to our customers,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “Garry’s talent helps bring to life the all-too-real absurdities of DC politics.”

    If you’re a Prime member, you can watch all 10 episodes now.

    Image via Amazon, YouTube screenshot

  • Alpha House Season 2 Premieres October 24

    Alpha House Season 2 Premieres October 24

    Doonesbury creator Gary Trudeau’s comedy Alpha House has just received a premiere date for its second season.

    According to Amazon, its first original series will return for season two on October 24. The show, which stars John Goodman as a Republican Senator sharing a Washington D.C. house with other senators, also stars Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson, and Matt Malloy.

    Here’s how Amazon describes the second season:

    Delivering hilarious insider insights from the master of political satire, the new season of Alpha House finds the Senators maneuvering the hallways of Capitol Hill with a looming midterm election and an unclear political future. Republican Senators Biggs (Goodman), Bettencourt (Johnson) and Laffer (Malloy), having survived bruising primaries, are facing strong Democratic challengers and will use every trick in the book to woo voters on the road to re-election. Meanwhile, Senator Guzman (Consuelos) prepares for a 2016 bid for the presidency, a pursuit that will bring him into possible competition with one of his roommates

    Amazon is promising some pretty high-profile guest stars for season two, including Bill Murray, Penn Jillette, Andy Cohen, Matt Lauer, John McCain, Wolf Blitzer, Rachel Maddow, and George Stephanopoulos.

    “Our cast members hit their stride in season two,” said Trudeau. “Alpha House is blessed with actors who can find three laughs for every one on the page, and a crew that rivals any in episodic television. It’s been a privilege to come to work.”

    The satire boasts mostly favorable but mixed reviews. It first premiered on Amazon Prime Instant Video last April.

    This Alpha House announcement comes hot on the heels of the big debut of Amazon’s flagship original series, Transparent.

    Image via Amazon, YouTube screenshot

  • Alpha House Season 2 Production Kicks Off This Summer

    Alpha House Season 2 Production Kicks Off This Summer

    Amazon has made it official–Alpha House is coming back for a second season and production is set to begin this summer.

    Reports had already indicated that the series, which stars John Goodman as a Republican Senator sharing a Washington D.C. house with other senators, would be renewed for another season. Today, Amazon has made the official announcement.

    “We are delighted that Alpha House is a winner among Prime members,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “More than 6,000 customers gave the show a perfect five-star rating and have posted glowing, witty and compelling reviews asking for a second season. We’re excited to begin production and keep the story about these senators alive.”

    According to the company, Alpha House is the most popular TV season on Amazon Instant Video right now, which obviously made the decision pretty easy.

    Alpha House was one of the first original series to launch from Amazon Studios–which has been expanding and has now produced over a dozen comedy and drama pilots.

    “Alpha House is a joy to work on, and we’re thrilled that the show’s been renewed by Amazon,” said the shows’s creator, Garry Trudeau. “It’s fun to dance on the leading edge of streaming video, where audiences converge on server farms at all hours, besotted by John Goodman and free two-day shipping.”

    We also learn from Amazon that six new pilots have been greenlit for full series runs. We knew that X-Files creator Chris Carter’s post-apocalyptic series The After; Bosch, based on the Michael Connelly book series of the same name; Mozart in the Jungle, a comedy series from Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman; and Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor, had all been picked up. But today we hear that Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and Wishenpoof!, two childrens’ shows, have also been given the go-ahead.

    Image via YouTube

  • ‘Alpha House’ Was The Most-Watched Show On Amazon Over The Weekend

    Amazon released the first three episodes of its new show Alpha House last week. The company announced today that it was the most-watched show on Amazon over the weekend.

    The series is written by Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Trudeau, and stars John Goodman, Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson and Matt Malloy.

    The company has made the first three episodes free to all Amazon users, who can watch it on Amazon Instant Video, but if you like it, you’re going to need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber to enjoy the rest of the show. Starting on Friday, Amazon will release one new episode per week, exclusively for Prime members (they are offering a free trial for Prime, however).

    It will be interesting to see how this model works compared to Netflix’s strategy of releasing all episodes of a show’s season at once. Amazon could easily offer its episodes to non-Prime members at a price per episode like it does with other shows. That would give them an opportunity to get more viewers, but clearly they see it more as a way to get more Prime members instead.

    “The Amazon Studios process is designed to use data and feedback from customers to help us create and launch shows they will love,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “It is incredibly rewarding to see that process working—customers loved the pilot and we’re getting the same reaction to the series. We’re excited to introduce Betas later this week.”

    Betas, Amazon’s second original series, will debut this Friday. It will follow the same strategy of thee free episodes followed by one per week for Prime members.

    Image: Amazon

  • Alpha House Makes Its Debut on Amazon Instant Video

    Amazon has just released the first three episodes of its first original series Alpha House, and you can watch them for free on Amazon Instant Video.

    Alpha House stars John Goodman and was written by Doonesbury‘s Garry Trudeau. It focuses on four U.S. Senators who live together in a rented house in Washington D.C.

    Amazon is departing from the path blazed by Netflix, choosing not to release the entire season of Alpha House all at once. Amazon is giving viewers a taste by allowing them to watch the first three episodes for free, but after that each episode will become available on a weekly basis. You’ll also have to have a subscription to Amazon Prime (Instant Video) in order to watch the whole series.

    According to Amazon Studios director Roy Price, they chose this release model “so that customers can chat about the shows and build up anticipation.”

    “We are incredibly excited to make our very first original series available to Amazon customers. Our goal has always been to create shows that customers will love and we can’t wait to see Alpha House come to life,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “Creator Garry Trudeau and the amazing cast of Alpha House have delivered a humor-packed first season that doesn’t skip a beat.”

    Amazon’s second original comedy series, Betas, will premiere its first 3 episodes a week from today.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube

  • Amazon Departs from the Netflix Path, Sets Weekly Release Schedule for Original Shows Alpha House and Betas

    Amazon has just announced when and how they’re going to release episodes of two recently greenlit original comedies – Alpha House and Betas.

    Alpha House will premiere on November 15th and Betas a week later on November 22nd. Amazon says that they will release the first three episodes of each at first – and they will be available for all to watch, for free, on Amazon Instant Video. After that, Amazon will stick to a weekly release strategy – debuting one episode every 7 days for Amazon Prime members only.

    Of course, this strategy is much different from the one successfully employed by rival Netflix. With its original content, Netflix has taken a binge-friendly approach by releasing all episodes of any given season all at once – that’s the way they’ve handled every major content release since Lilyhammer back in 2011.

    This shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, as we already knew that Amazon was planning on diverting from the trail blazed by Netflix. Sure, binge watching has its benefits – mainly the absolute lack of any sort of forced delayed gratification. But some argue that the immediate availability can be a buzzkill for shows by removing it from the pop culture eye after a few weeks. It appears that Amazon subscribes to this this latter view – at least for now. Amazon Studios director Roy Price even mentioned building up anticipation –

    “Based on customers’ enthusiastic response to the pilot episodes we are counting down the days until we can share more of the political and entrepreneurial exploits of our Alpha House and Betas characters. Our goal is to make great TV shows that customers will love and we hope they’re going to love these shows,” he said. “We will release three episodes upfront for all customers so they can try out the shows and get to know the characters. Then we will release new episodes via Prime Instant Video week by week so that customers can chat about the shows and build up anticipation. We’re constantly experimenting and trying new things – and we’re eager to hear customers’ feedback on this model.”

    Alpha House stars John Goodman and was written by Doonesbury‘s Garry Trudeau. It focuses on four U.S. Senators who live together in a rented house in Washington D.C. The show recently added some big names, too.

    Betas “follows four friends as they attempt to strike it rich with a new mobile social networking app.”

    I guess user feedback on the release style will determine how Amazon moves forward. They have plenty of new shows on the way, including some greenlit children’s shows and a couple of new dramas – one from X-Files creator Chris Carter. If people hate it, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Amazon switched course and opted for a bulk release strategy. Amazon Studios has generally tried to involve the viewers at every turn – even the way they chose which pilots were turned into full series runs was largely based on user feedback.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube

  • Amazon’s ‘Alpha House’ Adds Cynthia Nixon, Amy Sedaris, and Wanda Sykes

    Amazon’s new original series Alpha House has just added a handful of notable names to its cast. The company announced that Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy), comedian Wanda Sykes, and Julie White will join the show, which is set to premiere this fall.

    The show was one of five original series greenlit by Amazon back in May, following a trial period that featured 14 pilots from Amazon Studios. Viewer feedback played a key role in which shows got the go-ahead, and the others to make the cut included Betas, Annebots, Creative Galaxy, and Tumbleaf. Alpha House stars John Goodman and was written by Doonesbury‘s Garry Trudeau. It centers on four U.S. Senators who live together in a rented house in Washington D.C. The pilot episode is available to watch, for free, on Amazon Instant Video.

    From Amazon:

    Alpha House follows four Republican senators-turned-housemates, Gil John Biggs (John Goodman), Robert Bettencourt (Clark Johnson), Louis Laffer (Matt Malloy) and, Andy Guzman (Mark Consuelos) through re-election battles, looming indictments, parties and housemate drama. Nixon will play Senator Carly Armiston, the formidable, confident, Democratic senator from New York . She is joined by Sedaris, who will play Louise Laffer, the sweet, concerned wife of Senator Louis Laffer. Sykes will play Senator Rosalyn DuPeche, a strong-willed, funny Democrat who just happens to be a neighbor of the male senators, while White will play the tough, determined, yet charming southern wife to Goodman’s character Gil John Biggs.

    “We’re lucky enough to have four of the most talented performers around joining the show,” said Trudeau.

    With its original programming, Amazon seems to be bucking the trend that Netflix has set – debuting all of the episodes in one big chunk.

    “It hasn’t been entirely determined how they’ll put it out. But it will be a different model than the one used by Netflix,” says the show’s producer, Jonathan Alter.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Says No to Binge Watching with Its Original Series

    As far as subscription-based streaming video providers go, Netflix got out ahead of the rest of the pack when it comes to high-quality original content. And since they’re the trendsetters, it’s their release style and structure that most people have come to expect.

    Just dump all of the episodes at once – that’s the Netflix way. They did it with Lilyhammer, House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and Arrested Development. You might have assumed that all streaming services would follow suit, releasing all of the episodes of their own original series at the same time. And you wouldn’t have been wrong to assume that.

    But apparently, your assumption is wrong. According to the producers of a new Amazon original series, that’s not the way they’re going to play it.

    Back in April, Amazon debuted 14 pilots, put them up for free, and took user feedback. From that feedback, Amazon made some cuts and decided to greenlight five new series: Alpha House, Betas, Annebots, Creative Galaxy, and Tumbleaf.

    Jonathan Alter, former Newsweek columnist and author, is an executive producer on one of those series – Alpha House. That show stars John Goodman and was written by Doonesbury‘s Garry Trudeau. It’s about four U.S. Senators who live together in a rented house in Washington D.C. Alter recently told The Wrap that Amazon was not going to release all of the new Alpha House episodes at the same time.

    “It hasn’t been entirely determined how they’ll put it out. But it will be a different model than the one used by Netflix,” he said.

    That’s interesting and it shows that Amazon isn’t afraid to buck the trend set by Netflix – even if that trend is proving popular with viewers. Binge watching has its benefits – mainly the absolute lack of any sort of forced delayed gratification. But it also can have its drawbacks, as some argue that the immediate availability dampens the buzz for any particular show by failing to keep it in the pop culture eye for more than a few weeks.

    Alpha House is set to debut in the Fall.

  • Amazon Greenlights First 5 Shows: Alpha House, Betas, Annebots, Creative Galaxy, Tumbleaf

    In April, Amazon debuted 14 pilots for shows that could become its first originals. Five of them made the cut: Alpha House, Betas, Annebots, Creative Galaxy, and Tumbleaf. They will begin production, and air later this year, and in early 2014.

    “We are thrilled at the enthusiastic customer response to our first original pilots,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “We built Amazon Studios so that customers could help decide which stories would make the very best movies and TV shows. It’s exciting to see the process in motion, doing exactly what we set out to do. The success of this first set of pilots has given us the push to try this approach with even more shows—this is just the beginning.”

    Alpha House stars John Goodman, and was written by Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer-Prize winner Garry Trudeau and produced by Elliot Webb and Jonathan Alter. It’s a comedy about “four misfit senators turned unlikely roommates”.

    Betas is a comedy set in Silicon Valley, following four friends as they try to get rich with a new mobile social networking app. It stars Ed Begley Jr., Jon Daly, Joe Dinicol, Charlie Saxton and Karan Soni, and is written by Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard.

    The other three are kids shows. Here are the official descriptions:

    Annebots revolves around Anne, a young scientist, who creates three robot helpers to assist her scientific experiments in the back of her dad’s junkyard. This science-based series from creator J.J. Johnson aims to introduce kids to science and technology in a fun, new way.

    Creative Galaxy is an animated interactive art adventure series, designed to inspire kids’ creative thinking through crafts, story, music and dance. The series was created by Angela Santomero, creator of Blue’s Clues and the Emmy-nominated literacy series, Super Why!

    Tumbleaf was created by Drew Hodges and Kelli Bixler of Bix Pix Entertainment, the award-winning stop motion studio. The series, aimed at preschoolers, is set in a whimsical land where a small blue fox named Fig plays each day and discovers adventure, friendship and love around every bend. Children will be enriched by narratives that promote play through exploration and scientific thinking.

    Each of the shows will appear exclusively on Prime Instant Video. The pilots are currently available for streaming.