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  • Reports: Amazon Deal To Buy MGM Studios For $9 Billion Nearly Done

    Reports: Amazon Deal To Buy MGM Studios For $9 Billion Nearly Done

    According to numerous reports Amazon is very close to a deal to buy MGM Studios and its film library for nearly $9 billion with debt. This would significantly alter the streaming wars and give Amazon a huge base of over 4,000 titles, 17,000 hours of TV as well as the Epix pay-TV network. An agreement is expected this week unless their is a last-minute hitch.

    Some on Twitter have concerns about Amazon’s growing power. Journalist Dan Primack says that a top Amazon exec told him: “We’ll keep doing big deals until one actually gets blocked, instead of just political rhetoric.”

    Another person tweeted: Now that Amazon is buying MGM Studios they’ll be in charge of the entire food supply with Whole Foods, media consumption and propaganda at the Washington Post, and now all Hollywood misinformation. What could possibly go WRONG??? Monopolies in America are Evil.

    https://twitter.com/amtvmedia/status/1396917641281818625

    The deal potential was originally reported by The Information last Monday. Numerous additional news reports were posted in the last hour:

    The talks between Amazon and MGM have been on-again, off-again since the start of this year, people close to both companies said. Amazon and MGM have been in exclusive talks in recent weeks, the people said. The MGM board was briefed on the matter Sunday night, a person close to the situation said. There are no guarantees they will ultimately reach an agreement. An acquisition of one the most iconic entertainment brands in the world would be the most aggressive foray yet by a tech giant into Hollywood.

    Wall Street Journal

    Chatter that Amazon and other tech and media giants have been sniffing around MGM has circulated for some time. But sources indicated that Amazon’s interest in acquiring the studio has taken on a new tenor beyond the usual rumor mill. The deal is said to be being orchestrated by Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Amazon Studios and Prime Video, directly with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich, whose Anchorage Capital is a major MGM shareholder.

    Variety

    In the wake of Monday’s news that Amazon is making a go at MGM, it’s been radio silence. As of Friday, we hear that both sides remain actively in talks and want to get the deal done soon, but the time frame remains undefined.

    Deadline

    Amazon.com Inc. is nearing a deal to buy the Hollywood studio MGM Holdings for almost $9 billion, said people familiar with the matter, a pact that would turn a film operation founded in the silent era into a streaming asset for the e-commerce giant.

    Fox Business
    Reports: Amazon Deal To Buy MGM Studios For $9 Billion Nearly Done

  • Amazon’s First Original Movie Is Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-Raq’

    Amazon, which has begun to have success with its original TV series, is finally jumping into the world of original films.

    The company has officially announced its first project – Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq. In January, Amazon announced plans to produce at least a dozen original films a year. The movies will be created with theatrical release in mind, but will appear on Amazon Prime Instant Video four to eight weeks after their theatrical premiere.

    Chi-Raq stars Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett, John Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson. A take on the classic Greek play Lysistrata, it focuses on violence in inner city Chicago. The film wrapped last week.

    “Spike Lee is one of the most distinct and visionary filmmakers of our time,” said Ted Hope, Head of Motion Picture Production at Amazon Studios. “It would be impossible to find a better filmmaker with whom to launch our studio. He has a unique voice, a distinct eye, and he tackles important subjects with humor and heart, pointing to solutions and not exploiting the problems. Chi-Raq may be his greatest, and definitely his boldest film yet—everything about it is distinctive.”

    “I’m honored to be part of the film that will launch Amazon Studios and to tell a story that is so important. Please don’t be fooled by the title of Chi-Raq, this new Spike Lee joint will be something very special. We have assembled a stellar cast,” said Spike Lee.

    Amazon’s film ambitions are starting to take shape. As Hollywood Reporter notes, Amazon has “acquired domestic rights to Elvis & Nixon, a historical drama starring Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon and Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley. It is also pursuing a Jim Jarmusch movie; Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a passion project about an ad executive who travels back in time, where Don Quixote mistakes him for Sancho Panza; and Eleanor Coppola’s Bonjour Anne, a romance drama starring Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage and Yvan Attal.

    Rival Netflix is also making a big original film push.

    Image via Angela George, Wikimedia Commons

  • ‘Transparent’ Season Three Is Already a Go

    Amazon has announced that it has greenlit a third season of its award-winning original series Transparent – and the second season hasn’t even premiered yet.

    The third season will begin filming next week. The show’s creator, Jill Soloway, will stay on as showrunner.

    “Jill is truly a creative force and I’m thrilled that we will be collaborating with her additional projects in the future and on a third season of Transparent,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “The second season is currently starting production, and I know our customers will be delighted to continue the journey with Maura and the Pfefferman family.”

    Transparent is a half hour novelistic series that explores family, identity, sex, and love. The series stars Tambor as Maura, who has spent her life as Mort—the Pfefferman family patriarch. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone else’s secrets finally start to come out. This includes her ex-wife Shelly (played by Light), and their children—meandering Ali (played by Hoffmann), record producer Josh (played by Duplass), and sexually conflicted Sarah (played by Landecker). Each family member spins in a different direction as they figure out who they won’t become.

    You can watch the first season right now if you’re an Amazon Prime members. The second season debuts in the fall.

    Earlier this year, at the Golden Globes, Transparent gave Amazon its first ever wins at a major award show. The series won best TV series comedy or musical, and its star Jeffrey Tambor won best actor in a TV comedy as well.

  • ‘Bosch’ Season 2 Is a Go After Strong Performance

    Bosch, Amazon’s first original hour-long drama, has already been greenlit for a second season. That means it’s also the first drama series to be renewed at Amazon.

    The show, which premiered ten episodes back in February, is based on a series of Michael Connelly novels that follow LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch – played by Titus Welliver, who you may know from Lost. It also stars Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Annie Wersching, Sarah Clarke. and Jason Gedrick.

    “I am very excited about continuing the Bosch story with season two,” said Michael Connelly. “I love what we started with and I think our plans for the second season will make the show even better and more exploratory of the character of Harry Bosch. We have a great cast and crew and we are all going to be one year better at this. I can’t wait.”

    Amazon already has a season two synopsis up:

    In the second season of Bosch, the relentless LAPD detective will investigate the murder of a Hollywood producer who laundered money for the mob. He will also pursue serial killer Chilton Hardy and the investigations take Bosch from the Hollywood Hills down through the gritty back streets of L.A. and Las Vegas, threatening those closest to him—his teenage daughter and ex-wife

    “We’re delighted to see that Amazon customers have immediately embraced Bosch,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “Fans will soon be able to enjoy more of this inspired adaptation brought to life by a remarkably gifted cast.”

    According to Amazon, it would’ve been insane not to renew the show. The company says Bosch had biggest debut weekend of all Amazon originals (including the award-winning Transparent). And over the past month, it’s been the most-watched thing on all of Amazon Prime Instant Video.

  • Bosch, Amazon’s New Cop Drama, Is Now Available

    All ten episodes of Amazon’s first original hour-long drama, Bosch, are now available to stream on Amazon Prime Instant Video.

    Bosch is based on a series of Michael Connelly novels that follow Harry Bosch, a “relentless LAPD homicide detective who pursues the killer of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court on accusations that he murdered a suspected killer in cold blood.”

    From Amazon:

    Primarily based on elements from Connelly’s books City of Bones (2002), The Concrete Blonde (1994) and Echo Park (2006), Harry Bosch’s investigation takes on a life and death urgency when a killer who has confessed to a boy’s murder escapes custody and begins a murderous rampage across Los Angeles. Bosch and the killer are locked in a cat and mouse game, with the killer taunting Bosch as the investigation turns deeply personal. The case unearths Bosch’s buried past as well as entangling his ex-wife and 14-year-old daughter. The season takes the viewer through back streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles rarely seen on-screen.

    Bosch stars Titus Welliver, who you may know from Lost. It also stars Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Annie Wersching, Sarah Clarke. and Jason Gedrick.

    The new show is receiving generally favorable reviews. Of course, it has a lot to live up to considering Amazon’s latest offering, Transparent, won a couple Golden Globes.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube

  • You Can Watch ‘Transparent’ for Free This Weekend

    If the new show Transparent just hit your radar because of its Golden Globes win and you’ve been itching to see what the fuss is about, this weekend offers you a chance.

    If you don’t have Amazon Prime, Transparent is off limits to you. This Saturday (1/24), for one day only, Amazon is going to let everyone stream the show – prime member or no. According to the company, this is a ‘celebration’ of the show’s massive success.

    “We’re incredibly proud of everyone involved in the making of Transparent—the team took a risk and it paid off,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. “Big kudos and congrats to Jill, Jeffrey, and all the cast and crew.”

    You have from Saturday at 12:01 am EST to 11:59 pm PST to stream all ten episodes of the first season.

    Amazon is also slashing the price of a year-long Amazon Prime membership this weekend – $72 in honor of the 72nd annual Golden Globes.

  • Amazon Is Going to Make Movies for Theatrical Release and Quick Debut on Prime

    Earlier this month, Amazon picked up its first-ever major award win, taking home a Golden Globe award for its original series Transparent. Is Amazon now shooting for Oscars?

    The company has announced plans to produce at least a dozen original films a year, starting this year. The movies will be created with theatrical release in mind, but will appear on Amazon Prime Instant Video four to eight weeks after their theatrical premiere.

    That’s a very quick window, considering it can take up to a year for films to make it from the big screen to the small screen.

    “We look forward to expanding our production efforts into feature films. Our goal is to create close to twelve movies a year with production starting later this year,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “Not only will we bring Prime Instant Video customers exciting, unique, and exclusive films soon after a movie’s theatrical run, but we hope this program will also benefit filmmakers, who too often struggle to mount fresh and daring stories that deserve an audience.”

    The guy Amazon has chosen to run the new initiative, Ted Hope, has experience in garnering acclaim for independent films. His production company, Good Machine, produced films like Eat Drink Man Woman, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and American Splendor.

    “Audiences already recognize that Amazon has raised the bar with productions in the episodic realm, tackling bold material in unique ways and collaborating with top talent, both established and emerging. To help carry the torch into the feature film world for such an innovative company is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility,” said Ted Hope, the new Head of Production for Amazon Original Movies. “Amazon Original Movies will be synonymous with films that amaze, excite, and move our fans, wherever customers watch. I am incredibly thrilled to be part of this.”

    Image via Amazon, YouTube

  • Here Are 13 New Pilots You Can Watch Now on Amazon

    Here Are 13 New Pilots You Can Watch Now on Amazon

    It’s time for another round of new pilots from Amazon Studios.

    The company has just made available 13 new pilots (seven for adults and six for kids). Here’s what’s now available via Amazon Instant Video:

    Cocked

    Created by Sam Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Cocked stars Sam Trammell (True Blood) as Richard Paxson, a family man and corporate lap dog who left his family in rural Virginia twenty years before and vowed never to go back. After some unfortunate circumstances, he is forced to leave the big city and return home to help his family’s gun business—one of the oldest in the country. But no good deed goes unpunished. Older brother Grady Paxson, played by Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), who’s a bachelor, playboy and gun aficionado, isn’t so happy to have him back, and Richard’s liberal wife and two opinionated teenage children are horrified by the world they have been thrown into. Hilarity, epic fights and emotional breakdowns ensue. Cocked also stars Brian Dennehy (The Good Wife) as Wade Paxson, Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad) as Hannah Paxson, and Dreama Walker (The Good Wife) as Tabby Paxson. The hour-long dark comedy pilot is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Skull Island), and Erwin Stoff (Unbroken), Shaw, and Baum are Executive Producers.

    Mad Dogs

    Mad Dogs is a dark comedy created by Cris Cole (The Bill), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (DCI Banks), Suzanne Mackie (All in Good Time), and Charles McDougall (The Mindy Project). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the twisted reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced—who are all at different crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belize villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As an inconceivable chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize that the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they want to be relying on. The pilot stars Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Twin Peaks) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex, and Ben Chaplin (World without End) as Joel. Mad Dogs is directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.

    The Man in the High Castle

    Based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Some 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot stars Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot is directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker, with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.

    Point of Honor

    At the start of the Civil War, a Virginia family, led by their West Point bred son, John Rhodes (played by Nathan Parsons, True Blood), makes the controversial decision to defend the South while freeing all of their slaves. At battle against his northern brethren and his best friend and brother-in-law Robert Sumner (played by Christopher O’Shea, Baby Daddy), John leaves his three strong-willed sisters at home to run the plantation that is now without a free labor source. The choice to protect the life they have always known and defend the moral high ground will pit the family against one another and test their strength, courage and love. An hour-long drama shot entirely on-location in historic Virginia, Point of Honor also stars Annabelle Stephenson (Revenge) as Kate Rhodes, Riley Voelkel (The Newsroom) as Lorelei Rhodes, Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Old School) as Estella Rhodes, Patrick Heusinger (Revolution) as Colonel Palmer Kane, Luke Benward (Ravenswood) as Garland Rhodes, Adrienne Warren (Black Box) as Abby, Lucien Laviscount (Waterloo Road) as Elijah, and James Harvey Ward (Low Winter Sun) as Cutler. The pilot is directed by Randall Wallace (Braveheart), written by Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Wallace, and Executive Produced by Cuse, Wallace and Barry Jossen (Sex and the City). Point of Honor is being co-produced with ABC Signature Studios.

    Half-hour shows:

    Down Dog

    Blessed with good looks, a winning smile, hippie parents and a Southern California upbringing, life has been relatively easy thus far for Logan Wood (played by Josh Casaubon, I Just Want My Pants Back). In his late 30′s, having coasted through romances with countless women and various random jobs, he now teaches yoga to the trophy wives, hot moms and aspiring celebrities of Santa Monica and Venice Beach. And he’s damn good at it. But when Logan and his current girlfriend, a successful and attractive older woman named Amanda (played by Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds) who happens to be the owner of the yoga studio, break up, life starts to get more complicated. Down Dog also stars Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), Will Greenberg (Halt and Catch Fire), Andrea Savage (The Life and Times of Tim), Amir Talai (American Dad), Kris Kristofferson (Lone Star), and Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black). The pilot is written by Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?), produced by Bob Cooper (RFK) and Michael Fuchs (Death in the Modern Age), and directed by Bradley Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events).

    Salem Rogers

    In this half-hour comedy, Leslie Bibb (About a Boy) plays Salem Rogers, an overly confident, outrageously blunt, and hard-partying former supermodel who is forced to face her past and re-enter the real world after ten years in a posh rehab center. Intent on recreating her glamorous lifestyle and modeling success, she tracks down Agatha (played by Rachel Dratch, Saturday Night Live), her former assistant who has since built a career as an author of self-help books to help her win back the spotlight. Salem Rogers also stars Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Brad Morris (Playing House), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Toks Olagundoye (The Neighbors), Brad Morris (Cougar Town) and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). The pilot is written by newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, Executive Produced by Will Graham (The Onion News Network) and directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls). Salem Rogers was submitted as part of the studio’s online screenplay submission process.

    Docu-series:

    The New Yorker Presents

    America’s most award-winning magazine comes to life in this half hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience that features Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman; a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot is co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions.

    Amazon has also dropped six new kids pilots – Buddy: Tech Detective, Sara Solves It , The Stinky & Dirty Show, Niko and the Sword of Light, Table 58, and Just Add Magic.

    “We look forward to seeing our customers’ response to the year’s first pilot season,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “We’re thrilled about these projects and the great talent and passion behind them.”

    As always, user feedback will help Amazon determine which shows to greenlight for full series runs. So, if you want to see more of something, make sure you’re loud about it. You have four weeks.

    Image via Amazon Studios

  • Bosch, Amazon’s First Hour-Long Drama, Lands Feb 13

    Amazon’s first hour-long drama will hit Prime Instant Video on February 13.

    Bosch, based on bestselling author Michael Connelly’s books about LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch (City of Bones, The Concrete Blonde, and Echo Park), was greenlit back in March of last year after a successful pilot premiere.

    Bosch stars Titus Welliver (as Bosch), Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick. and Annie Wersching. It’s executive produced by Connelly, Eric Overmyer, and Henrik Bastin. Here’s Amazon’s official description:

    The series follows the relentless LAPD homicide detective as he pursues the killer of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court on accusations that he murdered a suspected killer in cold blood …

    Primarily based on elements from Connelly’s books City of Bones (2002), The Concrete Blonde (1994) and Echo Park (2006), Harry Bosch’s investigation takes on a life and death urgency when a killer who has confessed to the boy’s murder escapes custody and begins a murderous rampage across Los Angeles. Bosch and the killer are locked in a cat and mouse game, with the killer taunting Bosch as the investigation turns deeply personal. The case unearths Bosch’s buried past as well as entangling his ex-wife and 14-year-old daughter. The season takes the viewer through back streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles rarely seen on-screen.

    “I am very pleased with season one,” Connelly says. “We have been extremely loyal to the character and city in the books. I think anybody who likes Harry Bosch on the page is going to like him on screen too. Titus Welliver is perfectly cast and viewers are going to be drawn to him whether they’ve read the books or not.”

    Bosch was greenlit at the same time as three other Amazon originals – another hour-long drama and two comedies. The two comedies, Mozart in the Jungle and Transparent, already debuted their first seasons. The latter just won a Golden Globe.

    The other drama greenlit alongside Bosch, Chris Carter’s The After, didn’t fare so well. The X-Files creator’s show was recently scrapped.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube

  • Woody Allen Heads to Amazon for First-Ever TV Series

    Amazon Studios and Woody Allen have just announced a partnership that will see the acclaimed filmmaker write and direct his first-ever TV series.

    It doesn’t have a name at this point – it’s simply Untitled Woody Allen Project – but we do know that it’ll be a half-hour series and Amazon has already ordered a full series run.

    The series will debut sometime next year.

    “Woody Allen is a visionary creator who has made some of the greatest films of all-time, and it’s an honor to be working with him on his first television series,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “From Annie Hall to Blue Jasmine, Woody has been at the creative forefront of American cinema and we couldn’t be more excited to premiere his first TV series exclusively on Prime Instant Video next year.”

    “I don’t know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this,” said Woody Allen in a very Woody Allen response.

    The always critically-acclaimed but also controversial Allen is a big name for Amazon Studios, who is working hard to complete in the ever-crowded field of original streaming content. The company did score a big win on Sunday when its original series Transparent won best TV comedy at the Golden Globes.

    Image via David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons

  • Transparent Wins a Golden Globe, Amazon’s First Major Award

    Over the past couple years, Netflix has consistently netted award show nominations (and some wins) for its original content like House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. And though the Emmys, Golden Globes, and the like have smiled upon Netflix – they hadn’t yet shown any love for Amazon and its original Prime Instant Video offerings.

    Until Sunday night.

    The Amazon original Transparent had a huge night. Not only did the series win best TV series comedy or musical, but its star Jeffrey Tambor won best actor in a TV comedy as well.

    Sunday marked the first time Amazon was nominated for a major award. It beat out Netflix in the best TV series comedy category (Orange Is The New Black).

    The show, a half-hour “novelistic” series that explores the lives of a family and its transgender patriarch, saw “record-breaking” viewing, according to Amazon. A second season was ordered almost immediately after the first one premiered to both critical and user acclaim.

  • Amazon’s New Pilots Will Debut on January 15

    Amazon’s New Pilots Will Debut on January 15

    Amazon has just announced that its new season of pilots, which includes 13 new shows, will debut on January 15.

    The new set of hopefuls was first announced back in November.

    Here are the seven pilots you’ll be able to stream next week:

    Cocked

    Created by Sam Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Cocked stars Sam Trammell (True Blood) as Richard Paxson, a family man and corporate lap dog who left his family in rural Virginia twenty years before and vowed never to go back. After some unfortunate circumstances, he is forced to leave the big city and return home to help his family’s gun business—one of the oldest in the country. But no good deed goes unpunished. Older brother Grady Paxson, played by Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), who’s a bachelor, playboy and gun aficionado, isn’t so happy to have him back, and Richard’s liberal wife and two opinionated teenage children are horrified by the world they have been thrown into. Hilarity, epic fights and emotional breakdowns ensue. Cocked also stars Brian Dennehy (The Good Wife) as Wade Paxson, Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad) as Hannah Paxson, and Dreama Walker (The Good Wife) as Tabby Paxson. The hour-long dark comedy pilot is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Skull Island), and Erwin Stoff (Unbroken), Shaw, and Baum are Executive Producers.

    Mad Dogs

    Mad Dogs is a dark comedy created by Cris Cole (The Bill), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (DCI Banks), Suzanne Mackie (All in Good Time), and Charles McDougall (The Mindy Project). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the twisted reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced—who are all at different crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belize villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As an inconceivable chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize that the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they want to be relying on. The pilot stars Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Twin Peaks) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex, and Ben Chaplin (World without End) as Joel. Mad Dogs is directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.

    The Man in the High Castle

    Based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Some 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot stars Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot is directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker, with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.

    Point of Honor

    At the start of the Civil War, a Virginia family, led by their West Point bred son, John Rhodes (played by Nathan Parsons, True Blood), makes the controversial decision to defend the South while freeing all of their slaves. At battle against his northern brethren and his best friend and brother-in-law Robert Sumner (played by Christopher O’Shea, Baby Daddy), John leaves his three strong-willed sisters at home to run the plantation that is now without a free labor source. The choice to protect the life they have always known and defend the moral high ground will pit the family against one another and test their strength, courage and love. An hour-long drama shot entirely on-location in historic Virginia, Point of Honor also stars Annabelle Stephenson (Revenge) as Kate Rhodes, Riley Voelkel (The Newsroom) as Lorelei Rhodes, Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Old School) as Estella Rhodes, Patrick Heusinger (Revolution) as Colonel Palmer Kane, Luke Benward (Ravenswood) as Garland Rhodes, Adrienne Warren (Black Box) as Abby, Lucien Laviscount (Waterloo Road) as Elijah, and James Harvey Ward (Low Winter Sun) as Cutler. The pilot is directed by Randall Wallace (Braveheart), written by Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Wallace, and Executive Produced by Cuse, Wallace and Barry Jossen (Sex and the City). Point of Honor is being co-produced with ABC Signature Studios.

    Half-hour shows:

    Down Dog

    Blessed with good looks, a winning smile, hippie parents and a Southern California upbringing, life has been relatively easy thus far for Logan Wood (played by Josh Casaubon, I Just Want My Pants Back). In his late 30′s, having coasted through romances with countless women and various random jobs, he now teaches yoga to the trophy wives, hot moms and aspiring celebrities of Santa Monica and Venice Beach. And he’s damn good at it. But when Logan and his current girlfriend, a successful and attractive older woman named Amanda (played by Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds) who happens to be the owner of the yoga studio, break up, life starts to get more complicated. Down Dog also stars Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), Will Greenberg (Halt and Catch Fire), Andrea Savage (The Life and Times of Tim), Amir Talai (American Dad), Kris Kristofferson (Lone Star), and Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black). The pilot is written by Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?), produced by Bob Cooper (RFK) and Michael Fuchs (Death in the Modern Age), and directed by Bradley Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events).

    Salem Rogers

    In this half-hour comedy, Leslie Bibb (About a Boy) plays Salem Rogers, an overly confident, outrageously blunt, and hard-partying former supermodel who is forced to face her past and re-enter the real world after ten years in a posh rehab center. Intent on recreating her glamorous lifestyle and modeling success, she tracks down Agatha (played by Rachel Dratch, Saturday Night Live), her former assistant who has since built a career as an author of self-help books to help her win back the spotlight. Salem Rogers also stars Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Brad Morris (Playing House), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Toks Olagundoye (The Neighbors), Brad Morris (Cougar Town) and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). The pilot is written by newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, Executive Produced by Will Graham (The Onion News Network) and directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls). Salem Rogers was submitted as part of the studio’s online screenplay submission process.

    Docu-series:

    The New Yorker Presents

    America’s most award-winning magazine comes to life in this half hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience that features Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman; a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot is co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions.

    Amazon will also premiere six new kids pilots at that time – Buddy: Tech Detective, Sara Solves It , The Stinky & Dirty Show, Niko and the Sword of Light, Table 58, and Just Add Magic.

    As always, only the strong will survive. Amazon will take feedback from viewers to help them determine which pilots should be given a full series order.

  • Golden Globe Nominations See Netflix and Amazon Battling It Out for the First Time

    Golden Globe Nominations See Netflix and Amazon Battling It Out for the First Time

    The nominations for the Golden Globe Awards – where lovers of the big and the small screen alike can see their favorite stars/productions honored – are here. In an early morning ceremony, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Krause, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Piven announced who will vie for the coveted statutes next month.

    As has been the case with other award shows over the past couple of years, Netflix is making a push for press accolades. And for the first time, Amazon is getting in on the fun.

    House of Cards was nominated for three awards, including Best Television Series (Drama). Robin Wright was nominated in the Best Lead Actress category for her role as Claire Underwood. As expected, Kevin Spacey was also nominated in the Lead Actor category.

    Orange Is The New Black was also invited to the party, nabbing a few nominations. Taylor Schilling was given the nod in the Best Lead Actress (Comedy of Musical) category, and Uzo Aduba was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Crazy Eyes on the popular Netflix original.

    But what’s really interesting is the Best Television Series (Comedy of Musical) category where, for the first time, Netflix and Amazon are going up against one another for a Golden Globe. In the red corner, Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black. And in the other corner, Amazon Studios’ Transparent.

    Transparent’s Jeffrey Tambor was also nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical).

    The Hollywood Foreign Press has given Amazon some ammo here in its fight for legitimacy. Tune in on January 11, 2015, to see if the studio can take one home.

  • Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, Amazon’s New Live-Action Kids Show, Now Available

    Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, Amazon’s New Live-Action Kids Show, Now Available

    Amazon’s first live-action kids series aimed at older kids (those aged six to 11) is now available to stream – the first six episodes at least.

    Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, the project of first-time writer David Anaxogorias, launches today. Anaxagorias is a preschool teacher and submitted his show idea to Amazon Studios through its “open-door pilot submissions process”. His show is the first to be greenlit.

    “I have much to be thankful for this year and I’m especially grateful that after months of intense work, we can now share Gortimer with the world,” said Anaxagoras. “I couldn’t be more proud of our marvelous cast and crew who managed to tap into that Normal Street magic again and again with each new episode.”

    According to Amazon, “the series is a coming-of-age tale of friendship that centers around Gortimer and the bond with his two best friends Ranger and Mel, as they chronicle their adventures on Normal Street – an ordinary suburban neighborhood that has a hint of something unexpected just beneath the surface.

    This isn’t Amazon’s first original live-action kids show (Annedroids), but it’s the first one aimed at kids 6 – 11. The protagonist in the series in 13.

    Image via Amazon Studios

  • Mozart in the Jungle Hits Amazon December 23

    Mozart in the Jungle Hits Amazon December 23

    Amazon Studios’ new comedy show, Mozart in the Jungle, has just received an official premiere date – December 23.

    Amazon will release all 10 episodes of the first season at once on Amazon Prime. Mozart in the Jungle was first greenlit alongside Amazon’s Transparent – which has received rave reviews since its premiere in September.

    Mozart in the Jungle stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Saffron Burrows, Hannah Dunne, Lola Kirke, and Peter Vack. It’s executive producers are Roman Coppola. Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, and John Strauss. The show also boasts a bunch of guest stars including Malcolm McDowell, Bernadette Peters, Debra Monk, Wallace Shawn, and John Hodgman.

    Here’s Amazon’s official description:

    Based on the critically acclaimed memoir Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs & Classical Music by Blair Tindall, Mozart in the Jungle is seen through the eyes of a young oboist, Hailey (Kirke), who tries to navigate through the egos and eccentricities of a world renowned orchestra, and new conductor Rodrigo (Bernal), an enfant terrible whose passion for music threatens the plans of the orchestra’s old guard. That old guard is represented by Thomas (McDowell), the reluctantly outgoing conductor, and Gloria (Peters), the chairwoman of the board, who wonder what they have wrought by bringing Rodrigo into the fold. The musicians themselves, a colorful family of disparate personalities, are struggling to deal with this new regime. Along with her friends Alex (played by Vack), a dancer on the brink of success, Cynthia (Burrows), a worldly cellist, and Lizzie (played by Dunne), a world class partier, Hailey searches for what it means to dedicate your life to music.

    “Our customers will be immersed in a provocative and compelling world,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “Jason, Roman, Paul and John have brilliantly tapped into this microcosm brought to life by an unparalleled ensemble cast.”

    Last week, Amazon announced the first set of pilots for 2015 – for hour-long shows, two half-hour shows, and a docu-series.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube

  • Amazon Announces 2015’s First Set of Pilots

    Amazon Announces 2015’s First Set of Pilots

    Amazon Studios has just announced the seven new shows that will make up its first pilot season of 2015. Set to debut early next year, the set of pilots includes hour-long shows, half-hour shows, and a docu-series.

    Without further ado, here are your new pilots:

    Hour-long pilots:

    Cocked

    Created by Sam Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan – TV series), Cocked stars Sam Trammell (True Blood) as Richard Paxson, a family man and corporate lap dog who left his family in rural Virginia twenty years before and vowed never to go back. After some unfortunate circumstances, he is forced to leave the big city and return home to help his family’s gun business—one of the oldest in the country. But no good deed goes unpunished. Older brother Grady Paxson, played by Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), who’s a bachelor, playboy and gun aficionado, isn’t so happy to have him back, and Richard’s liberal wife and two opinionated teenage children are horrified by the world they have been thrown into. Hilarity, epic fights and emotional breakdowns ensue. Cocked also stars Brian Dennehy (The Good Wife) as Wade Paxson, Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad) as Hannah Paxson, and Dreama Walker (The Good Wife) as Tabby Paxson. The hour-long dark comedy pilot is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Skull Island), and Erwin Stoff (Unbroken), Shaw, and Baum are Executive Producers.

    Mad Dogs

    Mad Dogs is a dark comedy created by Cris Cole (The Bill), and Executive Produced by Cole, Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Marney Hochman (Last Resort), Andy Harries (DCI Banks), Suzanne Mackie (All in Good Time), and Charles McDougall (The Mindy Project). Based on the hit UK series, Mad Dogs follows the twisted reunion of a group of underachieving forty-something friends—a mixture of single, married and recently divorced—who are all at different crossroads in their lives. Celebrating the early retirement of an old friend at his gorgeous Belize villa, grudges begin to emerge and secrets explode as their trip becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. Mad Dogs is a twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test. As an inconceivable chain of events unfolds, cracks within the group widen before the friends realize that the only people they can trust are each other, the last people they want to be relying on. The pilot stars Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) as Cobi, Billy Zane (Twin Peaks) as Milo, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Gus, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Lex, and Ben Chaplin (World without End) as Joel. Mad Dogs is directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.

    The Man in the High Castle

    Based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternative history, The Man in the High Castle considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. Some 20 years after that loss, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), The Man in the High Castle provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality. The hour-long dramatic pilot stars Alexa Davalos (Mob City) as Juliana Crain, Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) as Joe Blake, Rupert Evans (The Village) as Frank Frink, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat Legacy) as Tagomi, Joel De La Fuente (Hemlock Grove) as Inspector Kido, Rufus Sewell (Eleventh Hour) as John Smith and DJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot is directed by David Semel (Madam Secretary, Heroes) and written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), both serving as Executive Producers. Also executive producing are Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker, with co-executive producer Jordan Sheehan of Scott Free Productions (The Good Wife, The Andromeda Strain), and Executive Producers Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute of Headline Pictures (The Invisible Woman). In addition, Isa Dick Hackett will executive produce and Kalen Egan will co-executive produce on behalf of Electric Shepherd (The Adjustment Bureau). Christopher Tricarico (May in the Summer) is also Executive Producer.

    Point of Honor

    At the start of the Civil War, a Virginia family, led by their West Point bred son, John Rhodes (played by Nathan Parsons, True Blood), makes the controversial decision to defend the South while freeing all of their slaves. At battle against his northern brethren and his best friend and brother-in-law Robert Sumner (played by Christopher O’Shea, Baby Daddy), John leaves his three strong-willed sisters at home to run the plantation that is now without a free labor source. The choice to protect the life they have always known and defend the moral high ground will pit the family against one another and test their strength, courage and love. An hour-long drama shot entirely on-location in historic Virginia, Point of Honor also stars Annabelle Stephenson (Revenge) as Kate Rhodes, Riley Voelkel (The Newsroom) as Lorelei Rhodes, Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Old School) as Estella Rhodes, Patrick Heusinger (Revolution) as Colonel Palmer Kane, Luke Benward (Ravenswood) as Garland Rhodes, Adrienne Warren (Black Box) as Abby, Lucien Laviscount (Waterloo Road) as Elijah, and James Harvey Ward (Low Winter Sun) as Cutler. The pilot is directed by Randall Wallace (Braveheart), written by Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Wallace, and Executive Produced by Cuse, Wallace and Barry Jossen (Sex and the City). Point of Honor is being co-produced with ABC Signature Studios.

    Half-hour shows:

    Down Dog

    Blessed with good looks, a winning smile, hippie parents and a Southern California upbringing, life has been relatively easy thus far for Logan Wood (played by Josh Casaubon, I Just Want My Pants Back). In his late 30’s, having coasted through romances with countless women and various random jobs, he now teaches yoga to the trophy wives, hot moms and aspiring celebrities of Santa Monica and Venice Beach. And he’s damn good at it. But when Logan and his current girlfriend, a successful and attractive older woman named Amanda (played by Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds) who happens to be the owner of the yoga studio, break up, life starts to get more complicated. Down Dog also stars Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), Will Greenberg (Halt and Catch Fire), Andrea Savage (The Life and Times of Tim), Amir Talai (American Dad), Kris Kristofferson (Lone Star), and Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black). The pilot is written by Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?), produced by Bob Cooper (RFK) and Michael Fuchs (Death in the Modern Age), and directed by Bradley Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events).

    Salem Rogers

    In this half-hour comedy, Leslie Bibb (About a Boy) plays Salem Rogers, an overly confident, outrageously blunt, and hard-partying former supermodel who is forced to face her past and re-enter the real world after ten years in a posh rehab center. Intent on recreating her glamorous lifestyle and modeling success, she tracks down Agatha (played by Rachel Dratch, Saturday Night Live), her former assistant who has since built a career as an author of self-help books to help her win back the spotlight. Salem Rogers also stars Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Brad Morris (Playing House), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Toks Olagundoye (The Neighbors), Brad Morris (Cougar Town) and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). The pilot is written by newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, Executive Produced by Will Graham (The Onion News Network) and directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls). Salem Rogers was submitted as part of the studio’s online screenplay submission process.

    Docu-series:

    The New Yorker Presents

    America’s most award-winning magazine comes to life in this half hour docu-series pilot. The New Yorker Presents is a completely unique viewing experience that features Tony-Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and actor Brett Gelman (Go On) in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Troy Miller (Arrested Development); a poem by Matthew Dickman; a documentary by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramović, conducted by The New Yorker writer Ariel Levy. Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is Executive Producer, joined by Dave Snyder (Death Row Stories) and Dawn Ostroff (The Fashion Fund). The pilot is co-produced by Condé Nast Entertainment and Jigsaw Productions.

    Like with all Amazon pilot seasons, only the strong will survive. Amazon will take feedback from viewers to help them determine which pilots should be given a full series order.

    Every pilot season from Amazon looks more impressive than the last. We know that Amazon Studios is ready up to spend big bucks on originals to compete with the likes of Netflix and HBO and 2015’s first run at it seems to suggest that the company isn’t messing around.

  • Amazon’s New Live-Action Kids Shows Debuts Nov 21

    Amazon’s New Live-Action Kids Shows Debuts Nov 21

    Amazon’s newest live-action kids series, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, will land on Amazon Prime Instant Video on November 21.

    The series follows Gortimer, “a kid fiercely loyal to his best friends and family, as he embarks with Ranger and Mel on magical exploits triggered by their thirst for adventure.”

    According to Amazon Studios, “the upcoming season will bring the trio together to help the unluckiest kid on Normal Street, solve a mystery before a spooky spirit turns them into ghost stories, undertake a scavenger hunt through town to find the fabled lost treasure of Normal Street, and outsmart fate after some alarming advice from a fortune teller.”

    Amazon first debuted the Gortimer pilot back in February, and it did well enough to merit a full-series order.

    “I’m so happy that Amazon has allowed me to tell this very special story of a world through the eyes of a 13-year-old where things are still a little magical,” said David Anaxagoras, the show’s creator. He’s a pre-school teacher, and this is his first writing project. “This is a dream I’ve had for a long time and the entire experience has felt natural and exciting—from my initial submission and the pilot being greenlit to working alongside talented minds pouring themselves into the project through the series’ production.”

    This isn’t Amazon’s first original live-action kids show (Annedroids), but it’s the first one aimed at kids 6 – 11. The protagonist in the series in 13.

    Image via Amazon Studios

  • 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

  • Amazon Is Ready to Spend Big Bucks on Originals

    Amazon Is Ready to Spend Big Bucks on Originals

    Amazon is apparently looking to throw the checkbook at promising new shows – and the company is focusing on comedy.

    That’s the word from Variety, who quotes the ubiquitous sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, Amazon Studios (Amazon’s original content producing wing) is ready to shell out anywhere from $2 million to $4 million for a “larger action-adventure comedy”. If the pilot was really promising, the sources say that Amazon is willing to pay even more.

    Money like this would put Amazon in the realm of traditional TV networks.

    “Rather than traditional sitcoms, Amazon Studios is looking for cinematic half-hour shows; a hypothetical example would be a series reboot of a blockbuster movie franchise, per sources,” says Variety.

    Perhaps Amazon is looking to mine success where its already found some. Last week, Amazon debuted what’s surely its flagship series, a half-hour “novelistic” series that explores the lives of a family and its transgender patriarch called Transparent.

    Shortly after, Amazon announced the show’s record-breaking viewership numbers and promptly picked it up for a second season.

    While Amazon has been developing a majority comedy pilots into full series (Alpha House, Transparent, Red Oaks), it’s not shying away from drama. The Ron Perlman drama Hand of God and the Adam Brody and Chloë Sevigny vehicle The Cosmopolitans are both on the way after successful pilots, as is X-Files creator Chris Carter’s The After.

    Amazon has been looking to compete with the likes of Netflix, in terms of original content, for a couple years now. Transparent may have given the company a breakthrough, and it may be looking to ride the wave.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube screenshot

  • Transparent Season Two Gets the Go-ahead As Amazon Touts Record Viewing

    Have you watched Amazon’s newest original series Transparent? According to Amazon, a lot of people have.

    The show, a half-hour “novelistic” series that explores the lives of a family and its transgender patriarch (played by Jeffrey Tambor), debuted last week and since then, it’s been the number one series on all of Amazon Prime Instant Video. Amazon says it’s “record breaking”. The company also touts its addictiveness, calling it the “most binged show” on Prime.

    Amazon is so high on the show’s performance, in fact, that its already greenlit season two. It’ll hit Prime Instant Video next year.

    “We are absolutely thrilled that the response to Transparent has been so positive,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “Our goal is to create series that customers love, so it’s great to hear that Transparent has not only risen to the no. 1 series on Prime Instant Video, but that it’s deemed ‘binge worthy’ as well. Given all this great feedback, it only makes sense to bring the Pfeffermans back next year in season two.”

    if you haven’t heard of the show, here’s a synopsis to catch you up to speed:

    The series stars Tambor as Maura, who has spent her life as Mort—the Pfefferman family patriarch. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone’s secrets finally start to come out. This includes her ex-wife Shelly (played by Light), and their children—meandering Ali (played by Hoffmann), record producer Josh (played by Duplass), and sexually conflicted Sarah (played by Landecker). Each family member spins in a different direction as they begin to figure out who they are going to become.

    Amazon’s not bullshitting when they talk about the show’s critical popularity. It currently holds a 91% Metacritic aggregate and a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. And if the company is to be believed, that critical acclaim is helping boost a much more important metric – viewership.

    Amazon is trying to match Netflix’s success in the streaming platform-turned-original content provider game, and it may have just found its first hit. What do you think? Does Transparent live up to the hype?

  • Amazon’s ‘Hand of God’, ‘Red Oaks’ Get Full Seasons

    Amazon’s ‘Hand of God’, ‘Red Oaks’ Get Full Seasons

    In late August, Amazon debuted five new pilots for Amazon Prime users’ viewing pleasure: The Cosmopolitans, Really, Hysteria, Hand of God, and Red Oaks. Today, Amazon is announcing that two of those shows have survived the pilot round and have been greenlit for full series productions

    It’s the latter two – Hand of God and Red Oaks. Hand of God is the television debut of director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, World War Z). It stars Sons of Anarchy‘s Ron Perlman as Judge Pernell 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.”

    Red Oaks is produced by director Steven Soderbergh. It stars Craig Roberts (Submarine), Paul Reiser, Richard Kind, and Jennifer Grey, and is being directed by David Gordon Green of Eastbound & Down acclaim. “A coming-of-age comedy set in the “go-go” 80s that is equal parts hijinks and heartfelt, Red Oaks is about enjoying a last hurrah before summer comes to an end—and the future begins,” says Amazon Studios. It revolves around an assistant tennis pro at a country club, and its “colorful” cast of characters.

    Like with all other Amazon pilot seasons, customer feedback helped determine which pilots got picked up.

    “We are excited to get working on full seasons of Hand of God and Red Oaks,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “These shows come from some of the most talented creators in the business. Customers loved the pilot episodes and we can’t wait to hear what they think of the entire series.”

    Amazon, who’s been battling for a while now to gain any ground on Netflix in the original content from streaming providers race, made a significant leap forward last week with the debut of Transparent. It’s receiving rave reviews. Amazon’s also set to premiere the second season of its first-ever original series, Alpha House, on October 24.

    Image via Amazon Studios, YouTube screenshot