Amazon Original Pilots - 2014

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Amazon today launched its third pilot season, calling on customers in the US and UK to watch a brand new slate of original comedy and drama pilots, and provide feedback to help determine which shows should be made into Amazon Original Series.

The line-up includes everything from a visit to modern day Paris, a psycho-physiological illness spread through social media, the humor and complexities of marriage, a New Jersey 1980's flashback, and a mysterious thriller. The pilots can be viewed with the Amazon Instant Video app available on Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, as well as hundreds of other connected devices such as smart TVs - or customers can visit amazonoriginals.com to watch online.

The five new pilots include half hour comedies The Cosmopolitans, Really and Red Oaks, and hour-long dramatic thrillers Hand of God and Hysteria. The pilots come from renowned creators including Shaun Cassidy, Jay Chandrasekhar, Marc Forster, David Gordon Green, Steven Soderbergh and Whit Stillman, and star Selma Blair, Adam Brody, Sarah Chalke, Dana Delany, Ron Perlman, Paul Reiser, Chlo Sevigny and Mena Suvari.

Amazon Studios - Wave 3 Pilots Sizzle Reel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phyEY_mBea4&list=UUQJWtTnAHhEG5w4uN0udnUQ

The Cosmopolitans

A dramatic comedy about a group of young American expats in Paris searching for love and friendship and an ocean of distance from their past.

Written, directed and produced by Academy Award nominee Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco). The romantic comedy pilot stars Adam Brody as Jimmy, Chlo Sevigny as Vicky, Carrie MacLemore as Aubrey, Dree Hemingway as Camille, Freddy sblom as Fritz, Jordan Rountree as Hal, and Adriano Giannini as Sandro. The pilot was filmed on location in Paris.

Hand Of God

A psychological drama about a morally corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice.

Marking the television debut of renowned filmmaker Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, World War Z) and written by Ben Watkins, Hand of God stars Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman in his first lead television role since Sons of Anarchy as Judge Pernell Harris.

Hand of God also stars Dana Delany as the Judge's protective wife Crystal Harris, Garret Dillahunt as KD, the born-again sociopath whose violent tendencies are exploited by Pernell, Andre Royo as the slick, smart, gregarious, and greedy mayor Robert 'Bobo' Boston, Alona Tal as Pernell's grieving daughter-in-law Jocelyn Harris, Julian Morris as the questionable preacher Paul Curtis, Elizabeth McLaughlin as the preacher's sultry girlfriend Alicia, and Emayatzy Corinealdi as Pernell's call girl and confidante Tessie.

Hysteria

An investigative thriller about a haunted young doctor who is summoned back to her hometown to investigate an epidemic that may be linked to social media - and her own tragic past.

Hysteria takes viewers to Austin, Texas where social connection has become contagious. In the pilot, members of a girls' competitive dance team are stricken with a strange, psycho-physiological illness that manifests itself in violent fits and spasms and then begins spreading in the community through technology. Neurologist Logan Harlen (played by Mena Suvari) returns to her hometown to investigate the cause. Fighting her own demons and the growing manipulation of a brother on death row, Logan develops an uneasy suspicion that the hysteria surrounding the girls might actually be linked to social media and her own tragic past. Hysteria is written by Shaun Cassidy, who is known for genre thrillers such as Invasion and American Gothic, and directed by Otto Bathurst, who won the BAFTA Award for his work on the critically-acclaimed U.K. mini-series Peaky Blinders.

The show also stars James McDaniel (Orange Is The New Black) as Carl Sapsi, Josh Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises) as Ray Ratajeck, Adan Canto (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Matt Sanchez, Laura San Giacomo (Saving Grace) as Grace Pelayo and T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy) as Carter Harlen. The show is written by Cassidy, who is also Executive Producer alongside Adam Schroeder, Sharon Hall, Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Bryan Zuriff, and Bathurst.

Really

A funny, honest, behind-the-curtain look at the psychological and emotional complexities of marriage and the charged dynamics of a tight-knit group of friends grasping on to what's left of their youth.

Written, directed and starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Really is a funny, extremely, honest behind-the-curtain look at the complexities of marriage and the charged dynamics of a tight-knit group of friends. The show is about four hard-charging suburban Chicago couples trying to grasp on-to their dwindling youth. At the center are the happily but messily married couple Jed, played by Chandrasekhar, and Lori, played by Sarah Chalke. When Jed is faced with the choice of keeping his pal's secret or destroying his friend group, he winds up digging himself into a very deep hole. Really explores marriage, friendship and the stifling peculiarities of suburban Chicago life. The pilot also stars Selma Blair, Travis Schuldt, Hayes MacArthur, Collette Wolfe, Luka Jones, Lindsay Sloane and Rob Delaney. Really comes from Main Street Films' Craig Chang and Harrison Kordestani, and Executive Producer Jamie Tarses (Happy Endings).

Red Oaks

A coming-of-age comedy set in the "go-go" 80s about a college student enjoying a last hurrah before summer comes to an end--and the future begins.

Directed by Sundance award-winner David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, Eastbound and Down) and executive produced by Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh (Behind the Candelabra, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven), Red Oaks stars Craig Roberts (Submarine) as David Myers, an assistant tennis pro at the Red Oaks Country Club in suburban New Jersey in 1985, who is both reeling from his father's heart attack and conflicted about what major to declare in the fall.

While there, he meets a colorful cast of misfit co-workers and wealthy club members including an alluring art student named Skye (played by guest star Alexandra Socha) and her corporate raider father Getty played by Paul Reiser (Mad About You). 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. Red Oaks also stars Jennifer Grey (It's Like, You Know) as Judy Myers, Richard Kind (Luck) as Sam Myers, Oliver Cooper (Californication) as Wheeler, Gage Golightly as Karen, and Ennis Esmer as Nash. Red Oaks is written by Gregory Jacobs (The Knick) and Joe Gangemi (Eliza Graves). Soderbergh, Green, Jacobs, and Gangemi are Executive Producers.

[Myshkin]

A new pilot season already? Last season's green-lit shows haven't even started airing yet.

[Myshkin]

I watched the three half hour comedies last night, and I wasn't very impressed. There's no Alpha House or Transparent in this group.

Red Oaks - It was fun enough, but I feel like they might have missed their window to cash in on the Caddyshack craze. Think of every 80's teen comedy you've ever seen; that's what you've got here, only in sitcom form. I spent most of the show waiting for an evil developer to threaten someone's rec center. I know it's set in the 80's, but did the writing have to be stuck in the 80's too? It wasn't all bad; there were some laughs, and the acting wasn't terrible, but still there wasn't much to get excited about.

Really - This was just okay as well. It seemed to be caught somewhere between sitcom and dark comedy, and didn't really pull of either one. The premise, exploring the complexities of adult relationships, doesn't really excite me either. It's a shame, since I like Jay Chandrasekhar. Maybe if given a chance it'll find its voice, but right now the show is just kind of flat.

The Cosmopolitans - This was pretty awful. Boring and pretentious. Douchebag ex-pats playing bohemian in Paris while generally acting like clueless assholes. The writing was clunky, and the acting bad. It seems to be the most "serious" of the three, which makes me fear that it's the one Amazon most wants to succeed. I hope not, because barring a complete cast overhaul and an entirely new writing staff, and maybe even a change of tone, this show is going to remain awful.

Tonight I'll probably watch the two hour long dramas. I'm not holding out much hope for Hysteria, but Hand of God has a ton of potential.

[lady narcissa]

The Cosmopolitans...Written, directed and produced by Academy Award nominee Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco).

I will absolutely watch this. I've really loved Stillman's three movies and been a fan of his since Metropolitan first came out.

[Cuellar]

Meh. Going to pass on all of them. I'm usually a sci-fi/fantasy junkie.

[Mike]

Hand of God sounds awesome. Ron Perlman as a vigilante judge and Garret Dillahunt as a violent sociopath? I'm definitely interested.

[Veltigar]

Did anything good ever come from Amazon's pilot seasons? I vaguely remember watching a Zombieland sitcom (Loved the movie, so I was excited) which was terrible.

EDIT: Also, what are the criteria? Does anybody know how they decide to pick a show? And if all 5 were to get glowing reviews, would all 5 be made?

[Myshkin]

Did anything good ever come from Amazon's pilot seasons? I vaguely remember watching a Zombieland sitcom (Loved the movie, so I was excited) which was terrible.

EDIT: Also, what are the criteria? Does anybody know how they decide to pick a show? And if all 5 were to get glowing reviews, would all 5 be made?

The first pilot season produced Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman, which I think is a lot of fun. Four of the five pilots from the second pilot season have been green-lit, but none of them have aired yet: Bosch is a cop drama starring Titus Welliver, which I enjoyed; The After is a post-apocalyptic/supernatural thriller from Chris Carter, which was awful; Transparent is a dark comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor, which has a lot of depth and is likely to be a critical darling; Mozart in the Jungle is listed as a comedy, though is more of a half-hour drama, about the back stage life of concert musicians, which I thought was pretty good.

As for the criteria, I don't think anyone knows how it works. Supposedly customer feedback helps decide which shows move forward, but IIRC the one show from last pilot season which didn't get green-lit, the truly awful The Rebels, had a better star rating than Transparent.

[Veltigar]

The first pilot season produced Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman, which I think is a lot of fun. Four of the five pilots from the second pilot season have been green-lit, but none of them have aired yet: Bosch is a cop drama starring Titus Welliver, which I enjoyed; The After is a post-apocalyptic/supernatural thriller from Chris Carter, which was awful; Transparent is a dark comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor, which has a lot of depth and is likely to be a critical darling; Mozart in the Jungle is listed as a comedy, though is more of a half-hour drama, about the back stage life of concert musicians, which I thought was pretty good.

As for the criteria, I don't think anyone knows how it works. Supposedly customer feedback helps decide which shows move forward, but IIRC the one show from last pilot season which didn't get green-lit, the truly awful The Rebels, had a better star rating than Transparent.

Thanks for the reply :) Perhaps I'll check Alpha House out some time.

[Myshkin]

Watched the two dramas last night:

Hysteria - As expect this wasn't very good, though it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. The problem here is the premise; the spread of a neurological/psychological disorder through social media. When I first read the description I thought that there would be some supernatural element involved. But no, they actually want us to buy into the idea of rampant hysteria (in the psychiatric sense) being spread through youtube videos. The acting wasn't bad, but the characters weren't very well written; it was hard to believe most of their motivations as being anything more than what the writers needed to move the plot where they wanted it to go. And all the ominous shots of people on their cell phones and tablets were heavy handed, and by the end were starting to come off as preachy. The only thing interesting about the show was the mystery surrounding an old murder, but that's not enough to keep me watching.

Hand of God - Finally something I really liked. I like the idea behind the show; a hardass judge goes a bit insane and now thinks he's getting messages from God instructing him to kill bad guys. The acting is great, and no wonder since they got some really good talent to sign on. Ron Perlman, Dana Delany, and especially Andre Royo and Garret Dillahunt were excellent. The show wasn't perfect, some of the writing needed work, and there was a sense that they were trying too hard to make sure they were taken seriously, but those aren't dealbreakers, and I'm very interested to see more of this show.

So after watching all five of the pilots the only one I'm really interested in is Hand of God, though I'd probably tune into Red Oaks or Really to see where they went if they got made. I think regardless of customer feedback Hand of God and, unfortunately, The Cosmopolitans are going to get made, simply because of the people involved in them.

[SpaceChampion]

SPOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoon! The Tick revived on Amazon with Patrick Warburton reprising the live-action role.

[Myshkin]

The results are in. Hand of God and Red Oaks have been green-lit, while Really and Hysteria have been axed. The Cosmopolitans is in limbo; more scripts have been ordered, but the project hasn't been green-lit.

I'm excited about Hand of God, it was easily the best of the bunch. Red Oaks was kinda stupid but was still pretty fun to watch. Really had some potential, but the pilot fell flat, so I'm not very disappointed that it got axed. Hysteria was pretty bad on a conceptual level, and there was really no way to save it. I fucking hated The Cosmopolitans, and I believe it had the worst star rating of the group, but it was the one all the critics were excited about, so that's probably why Amazon's not ready to give up on it just yet. Problem is the only people it appealed to were Whit Stillman fans, and there's just not enough of them to support a TV show.