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Amazon Pilot Season starts January 15th,13 pilots available to Prime subscribers

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Via Deadline:
Deadline said:
Amazon Studios has announced the titles that will premiere on Jan. 15 on Amazon Prime Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany as part of the company’s first pilot season of 2015. The slate includes four drama, two comedy, one documentary and six kids pilots. The four hour-long shows are: Cocked from Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan), Mad Dogs from Cris Cole (The Bill) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Man in the High Castle from Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), and Point of Honor from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Randall Wallace (Braveheart). The two half-hour pilots set to debut are Down Dog from Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?) and Salem Rogers from Will Graham (Onion News Network) and newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, along with a documentary series, The New Yorker Presents, inspired by non-fiction and fiction material from The New Yorker, which is executive produced by Oscar and Emmy-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie).

The four animated kids pilots that will debut on Jan. 15 include Buddy: Tech Detective, The Stinky & Dirty Show, Sara Solves It, Niko and the Sword of Light, joining two live-action kids pilots—Table 58 and Just Add Magic—from a roster of creative talent that includesMay Chan (Phineas & Ferb), Carol Greenwald (Arthur),Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood), Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex), Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends), Angela Santomero(Creative Galaxy), and Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son).

Viewers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the pilots. Here are details on all projects:

Cocked

Created by Samuel 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 Colorado 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 Paxton, 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 Tony award-winning Brian Dennehy (Death of a Salesman) as Wade Paxson and Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad) as Hannah Paxson, and Dreama Walker (The Good Wife) as Tabby Paxson. The hour-long dark comedy pilot was directed byJordan Vogt-Roberts (Skull Island), and Erwin Stoff (Unbroken) and Baum are Executive Producers.

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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. 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 was 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).

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Mad Dogs

Mad Dogs is an hour-long 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 as Joel. Mad Dogs is directed by McDougall and is being co-produced with Sony Pictures Television.

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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. Almost 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 starsAlexa 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 andDJ Qualls (Z Nation) as Ed McCarthy. The pilot was 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 (Blade Runner) and David W. Zucker (The Good Wife), 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.

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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 and narrated by Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman); 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 Abramovic, 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.

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 was 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 a co-production with ABC Signature Studios.

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Salem Rogers

A half-hour comedy, Leslie Bibb (About a Boy) plays Salem Rogers, an overly confident, blunt, hard-partying former supermodel who is forced to face her past and re-enter the real world after ten years in a posh rehab centre. 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), and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). The pilot was 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 to Amazon as part of the studio’s open screenplay submission process.

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Kids pilots:

Buddy: Tech Detective
(for preschool-aged children)

Based on an original idea by Chris Dicker (What’s Your News?) and created by Jon Burton (The Lego Movie), Dicker and Jocelyn Stevenson (Fraggle Rock), and developed for television by Jennifer Hamburg (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Henry Hugglemonster), Buddy: Tech Detective is an exciting preschool whodunit that follows super-sleuth Buddy, his inventor best friend Trudy, the funny furry ferret Ferdo and you, the smarty-pants viewer! Using a myriad of interactive technologies, Buddy and his team gather evidence, follow cues and crack the case. The project is a TT Animation/The Foundation (a part of Zodiak Kids) production, and is animated by Jellyfish Animation Limited.

Sara Solves It (for preschool-aged children)

This animated musical comes from the talented minds of Carol Greenwald (Arthur, Martha Speaks, Curious George), and Angela C. Santomero (Super Why, Blue’s Clues, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Creative Galaxy, Wishenpoof!) with animation production handled by DHX (Martha Speaks, Kid vs. Kat, Inspector Gadget). Produced by WGBH and Out of the Blue Enterprises with Greenwald, Santomero and Samantha Freeman executive producing, Sara Solves It follows 9-year-old whiz kid Sara and her younger brother Sam as they work together in order to solve mysteries in their apartment building, at school and beyond using creative problem solving! Each mystery is an interactive problem, steeped in musical goodness. In this first episode, viewers will use maths and music in a creative way as they help Sara and Sam solve the cheesiest pizza mystery!

The Stinky & Dirty Show (for preschool-aged children)

The Stinky & Dirty Show, based on the “I Stink!” book series by Kate & Jim McMullan, is written by Guy Toubes (The Adventures of Chuck & Friends, Littlest Pet Shop, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) and animated by Brown Bag Films, Ltd (Peter Rabbit, Octonauts, Doc McStuffins). The Stinky & Dirty Showfollows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty, the backhoe loader. Whether it’s rescuing their pal Mighty the tugboat, or moving a giant boulder blocking the highway in their town of Go City, Stinky & Dirty are a dynamic duo of resourcefulness who make plenty of mistakes along the way. For them, hilariously failing turns out to be the most fun path to success.

Niko and the Sword of Light (for children ages 6-11)

Niko and the Sword of Light is based on the motion graphic comic by Imaginism Studios, Inc., the studio behind character and concept designs for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Men in Black 3, and Studio NX (The Carrot and Rabbit Show, Tree Fu Tom). Written by Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex, League of Super Evil, Storm Hawks, Teen Titans) and animated by Titmouse (Motorcity, Metalocalpyse, Turbo FAST, Randy Cunningham: 9thGrade Ninja), Niko and the Sword of Light follows ten-year-old Niko who is the last of his kind in a strange, fantastical world. He must embark on an epic quest to defeat the darkness and bring the light back to his land. Armed with his magic sword, brave Niko journeys to the Cursed Volcano, making new friends and powerful foes along the way, all while uncovering secrets about his mysterious past. Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Jim Cummings (Shrek) lend their vocal talent.

Table 58 (for children ages 6-11)

Written by May Chan (Phineas & Ferb, Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures), Table 58 is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Gil Junger (10 Things I Hate About You, Greek). In Table 58, they’re not a part of the popular crowd, and they’re not a part of the geek crowd. The only thing they’re a part of is Table 58: the odd table in the lunchroom, made up of kids from all different cliques who have been ousted from the table where they seemingly belong. When new kid Logan moves to town, he rallies the group of six mismatched middle schoolers to form a tenuous partnership in order to help each other get back to their rightful place in the cafeteria. The project stars Grace Kaufman (Bad Teacher), Johnnie Ladd (Melissa & Joey),Jacob Melton (The Middle), Nathaniel Potvin (Girl Meets World), Juliana Rigolioso (The Smurfs), and Zack Shires (Wilfred).

Just Add Magic (for children ages 6-11)

Based on Cindy Callaghan’s young adult book of the same name and adapted by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco (Sullivan & Son, Fairly Odd Parents, My Little Pony), Just Add Magic is a single-camera live-action pilot directed by Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love, Awkward). The story centres on Kelly Quinn and her two BFF’s, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes. The Shut’em Up Shortcake actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and when the Healing Hazelnut Tart quickly heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic. The project stars Olivia Sanabia (Extant), Abby Donnelly (Suburgatory), Aubrey Miller (Austin & Ally), and Judah Bellamy (Home).
 
Not all sound up my alley but they have promise. I was down on Amazon until I watched Transparent. Now I'm willing to give anything they do a chance.
 

Busty

Banned
I hear good things about Cocked. I imagine that Mad Dogs will be looking good for a series order given it's cast.

I'm surprised that Man in the High Castle even got as far as a pilot given it's subject matter.

At least it shows that Amazon are willing to take chances.

Wonder if this being a strong crop is part of why they bailed on The After.

The After reamains the worst pilot episode that I have ever seen. I'm assuming that Amazon came to its senses and realised that the quality wasn't getting any better beyond the first episode.

Awful, just awful.
 
Some solid premises there, I'll give them a shot. I like the way that Amazon does this, though it does make it more heartbreaking if a show I don't like gets passed on.
 

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
Cool. I enjoyed a few of their first pilots. But I don't understand does this mean "Hand of God" wasn't watched enough to warrant a series? I've been waiting for that a while. Did it already have a season and I somehow missed it?
 

Wiktor

Member
Cool. I enjoyed a few of their first pilots. But I don't understand does this mean "Hand of God" wasn't watched enough to warrant a series? I've been waiting for that a while. Did it already have a season and I somehow missed it?

It's still coming. They often make one or even couple pilot seasons before all accepted shows from previous one made it into series. Hand of God should be out this year.
 
They've been getting less and less feedback every year for these pilots. I wonder how long this can last? They need a House of Cards already.
 

hom3land

Member
These shows work. Parents are now buying a fire tv stick after plowing through alphas house while visiting for Xmas.
 

Coolluck

Member
The After reamains the worst pilot episode that I have ever seen. I'm assuming that Amazon came to its senses and realised that the quality wasn't getting any better beyond the first episode.

Awful, just awful.

I'd like to jump on this train and reiterate that that was such an awful pilot. So much bad acting especially from the lead along with trying to make an effects show while only one day hoping to have the budget of a SyFy show was a recipe for disaster.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle are their 2 big shows right now. They're OK, nothing that will draw subscribers though.

Transparent is likely to win a few big Emmys. It's also the #1 show on their service. So no, I would say it's drawing subscribers.

Are there any really good Amazon exclusive shows currently?

Transparent is one of the best shows of the year.

Wonder if this being a strong crop is part of why they bailed on The After.

That's my guess -- they look at their brand and they'll have one Emmy darling and two better-than-okay shows with Mozart and Bosch, plus these pilots and Red Oaks/Hand of God.
 
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.

LOLOLOLOLOL

yeah, I ain't watching this lost cause BS
 
I guess Man in the High Caslte

I'm not a fan of these Pilot shows. It's like Fox airs an episode then cancels it (unlike it Amazon Might make more episodes)

I like bindge watching
 
Transparent is likely to win a few big Emmys. It's also the #1 show on their service. So no, I would say it's drawing subscribers.

Or so they claim. It's definitely a critics' darling, but I'm curious how many subscribers have actually watched the show. I watched the pilot but I have yet to start the season.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Or so they claim. It's definitely a critics' darling, but I'm curious how many subscribers have actually watched the show. I watched the pilot but I have yet to start the season.

I don't see any reason to doubt their claim -- it's also still in the top 3 of their most popular shows at the moment, behind Mozart and Downton Abbey, both of which just went up.

Also, if you haven't watched it yet, you don't get to say this:

They're OK, nothing that will draw subscribers though.
 
I don't see any reason to doubt their claim -- it's also still in the top 3 of their most popular shows at the moment, behind Mozart and Downton Abbey.

Also, if you haven't watched it yet, you don't get to say this:

LOL u got me. alright I'll join your Transparent OT soon (if I'm allowed...).

Binged Mozart over the weekend. It was really charming. Name is pretty awful though.

Yeah my daughter asked if she could watch it "but it's Mozart in the Jungle!" ....um no.
 
Really liked Lie to Me and I see Shawn Ryan's name so a couple of these have me intrigued, but I'm not sold on Amazon as a place I'm going to devote a ton of TV viewing hours yet. I'm only three episodes in on Transparent and while it feels extremely authentic and features wonderful performances, I'm not sure I'd call it good and/or must watch. Have I simply not gotten to the "tipping point" with it yet? My only other experience with their originals was Zombieland, and that was atrocious... to put it nicely.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
LOL u got me. alright I'll join your Transparent OT soon (if I'm allowed...).



Yeah my daughter asked if she could watch it "but it's Mozart in the Jungle!" ....um no.

Ahaha of course. And I found Mozart charming, but the title is dumb. I get that's the name of the book it's based off of, but come on.
 
I'm mostly excited for Mad Dogs. Good cast, Shawn Ryan and first 2 seasons of original UK series were amazing. Mix of black comedy and thriller, Mark Warren was spectacular.
But i'll watch the other pilots too.

TVLine has first photos from these pilots.

Cocked

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Mad Dogs

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The Man in High Castle

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Point of Honor

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Down Dog

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Salem Rogers

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VoxPop

Member
Wish they would bring back Betas. Wasn't amazing or anything but enjoyed it towards the end and would have liked at least one more season. Maybe without the annoying main actor.
 

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
How many of their shows/pilots went to get full seasons? Or been considered successful?
 
What happened to the last batch of Amazon pilots? When do we know if they have been picked up?
iirc: The After, Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, and Transparent were picked up. The latter two are available now. The After was canceled yesterday without airing, and Bosch is coming up sometime this year.
Hand of God and Red Oaks were picked up to series. Will premiere in 2015.
Oh yeah, those, too.
 

JCX

Member
Wish they would bring back Betas. Wasn't amazing or anything but enjoyed it towards the end and would have liked at least one more season. Maybe without the annoying main actor.

I enjoyed the series, but it'd be a bit redundant now that Silicon Valley is hot.
 

Wiktor

Member
iirc: The After, Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, and Transparent were picked up. The latter two are available now. The After was canceled yesterday without airing, and Bosch is coming up sometime this year.
Oh yeah, those, too.

Bosch will be out in february.
 
The Man in the High Castle sounds interesting. I love alternate history stuff, so that will be definitely getting a look.

Not sure about Mad Dogs. I really like the UK version, can't imagine this remake will be able to hold a candle to it, but I'll give it a shot.
 

WaffleTaco

Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
I probably should watch something on Amazon Instant, I mean I have the subscription, but Netflix and HBOGO just have better options. Is Transparent actually good?
 

A Human Becoming

More than a Member
I'll watch them all this time around. After Transparent I'm taking their efforts more seriously. Alpha House was good, but not great.
 
These shows sound mostly like garbage. I'll check out The Man in the High Castle. Point of Honor sounds particularly stupid from the description.

Wish they would bring back Betas. Wasn't amazing or anything but enjoyed it towards the end and would have liked at least one more season. Maybe without the annoying main actor.

Betas was junk. Silicon Valley is much better. And you also got Halt and Catch Fire which while not being quite the same thing, is close enough, and also better.
 

RulkezX

Member
Im really looking forward to Bosch, the pilot was good and the guy playing Bosch seems a good piece of casting.
 
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