SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN) — Four senators-turned-unlikely-roommates, four young entrepreneurs attempting to make it big in techland, a kid scientist and her robots, an alien artist, and a whimsical fox searching for adventure—are all getting back into character. Comedy pilots Alpha House and Betas, along with kids pilots Annebots, Creative Galaxy and Tumbleaf, have been given the greenlight to begin production on a full series of episodes that will air exclusively on Prime Instant Video later this year and in early 2014. Amazon and LOVEFiLM customers gave feedback that Amazon Studios used to decide which comedy and kids pilots should be made into Amazon’s first original series.
“We are thrilled at the enthusiastic customer response to our first original pilots,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “We built Amazon Studios so that customers could help decide which stories would make the very best movies and TV shows. It’s exciting to see the process in motion, doing exactly what we set out to do. The success of this first set of pilots has given us the push to try this approach with even more shows—this is just the beginning.”
“We're thrilled to have emerged safely from this harrowing exercise in online democracy,” said Garry Trudeau, Alpha House creator. “All of us at Alpha House thank both Amazon and its wise and wonderful customer base for such a happy outcome. As the future of episodic TV packs up and moves to Seattle, we hope the audience will continue to have as much fun watching the show as we have making it.”
“After many sleepless nights scrutinizing the number of stars we were getting online, we're excited that both Amazon and the Amazon customers have given us a vote of confidence to move forward with a full season of Betas,” said Michael London, Executive Producer of Betas. “This is only the beginning for our young social media players and we are excited to push them out in the big world to see if they sink or swim.”
“It’s really rewarding to hear that customers loved Creative Galaxy. It has been a passion project for me to bring the best arts and creativity to kids with Amazon, and I'm so excited that kids are going to be able to enjoy a full season of the show early next year,” said Angela C. Santomero, Creator of Creative Galaxy. “We need more innovative kids programming that puts a strong emphasis on creativity and education. I'm proud and honored to be collaborating with Amazon to make these shows for kids.”
“Every time you put a child in front of a screen you have the opportunity to positively influence them which is why we focused on developing pilots that purposefully combined entertainment and learning,” said Dr. Alice Wilder, Education Psychologist and Curriculum Advisor. “Parents and kids have told us they loved Annebots, Creative Galaxy and Tumbleaf and it’s going to be very exciting to see these pilots develop into shows that provide a unique and modern approach to education that will prepare children for a world that is rapidly changing.”
What customers are saying about the pilots:
Alpha House:
- “A political comedy from the mind of Garry Trudeau starring John Goodman with a cameo from Bill Murray. Needless to say this show has a lot of potential and I can't wait for more episodes.”
- “John Goodman shines in this series. Love the supporting cast. The show is intelligent, funny and unique. Can't wait for more shows!”
- “This show was witty and fun. The actors are great and they are what initially drew me to the show. I would definitely watch if the pilot was given the green light.”
Betas:
- “If this show doesn't continue, I don't know what I will do. I was hooked from the very beginning! I need to know if the boys sell their app! I need them to beat Valet Me!”
- “The characters are great. The humor is witty, dry and hilarious. The premise for the show is not too complicated and when it ended, I immediately wished that I had another episode to watch. Can't wait for a full season. Great show!”
- “No laugh track. Believable characters. The very real awkwardness. No Cheesecake Factory jokes. And a surprising cameo by Moby. What's not to like?”
Annebots:
- “I think this could be a big hit. We always need top quality children’s shows that inspire and teach in a fun and exciting way. I also like that the show will have its own web page. Could be the best idea in children's programing since Sesame Street.”
- “Both my five and seven-year-old girls loved this. When they watched the preview and saw that there would be apps to go along with the shows they flipped out and thought that was the best thing ever. I would surely pay for apps that go along with the show for their Kindles.”
- “Our family loved the pilot of Annebots. We have two girls, seven and 10, and they both were disappointed when the pilot ended. They wished it was longer and there were more episodes to watch. We discussed why a pigeon needs a rocket to fly and decided it was in order to fly fast. We also enjoyed the ‘eyes’ machine and discussed how cool it would be to have one. Please make more episodes.”
Creative Galaxy:
- “My three-year-old loves this episode. He has it completely memorized. We need more Creative Galaxy as soon as possible! As a teacher, I love the vocabulary and the way it fosters imagination and ideas!”
- “My kids (six and three-years-old) LOVE this show! The show makes art and creativity very accessible and relevant to kids' everyday lives! Loved it and I can't wait to see it fully animated!”
- “Absolutely loved the idea of this show and the message it teaches kids. Refreshing to see a show that focuses on the importance of art as a problem solving tool. Very cute and would hope to see more!”
Tumbleaf:
- “Gorgeous animation with so much appeal. My children were hooked. It's a pilot, but I'm hoping for a full series. Watch it!”
- “This show is such a breath of fresh air! Its gorgeous animation and art direction, as well as the valuable life lessons it teaches, are sure to make it a loved show by all. I love that stop motion is being utilized to help bring these magical characters to life, it makes them feel so real and tangible. I vote YES! I would love to see more of these special characters and the stories they tell.”
- “Beautiful, kid-friendly animation with great, imaginative characters and a fun storyline. Kids of all ages will love this show—love the Pine character especially :) Hope we get to see more than a pilot!”
Comedy Series
Alpha House, which stars John Goodman and was written by Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer-Prize winner Garry Trudeau and produced by Elliot Webb and Jonathan Alter, is a comedy about four misfit senators turned unlikely roommates (Clark Johnson, Matt Malloy and Mark Consuelos) who rent a house together in Washington DC.
Set in the land of Silicon Valley start-ups, Betas, written by Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard, follows four friends as they attempt to strike it rich with a new mobile social networking app. Ed Begley Jr., Jon Daly, Joe Dinicol, Charlie Saxton and Karan Soni star in the show. Michael Lehmann will direct and produce the show along with Emmy Award winners Alan Freedland and Alan Cohen, and Academy Award nominee Michael London.
Kids Series
Annebots revolves around Anne, a young scientist, who creates three robot helpers to assist her scientific experiments in the back of her dad’s junkyard. This science-based series from creator J.J. Johnson aims to introduce kids to science and technology in a fun, new way.
Creative Galaxy is an animated interactive art adventure series, designed to inspire kids' creative thinking through crafts, story, music and dance. The series was created by Angela Santomero, creator of Blue’s Clues and the Emmy-nominated literacy series, Super Why!
Tumbleaf was created by Drew Hodges and Kelli Bixler of Bix Pix Entertainment, the award-winning stop motion studio. The series, aimed at preschoolers, is set in a whimsical land where a small blue fox named Fig plays each day and discovers adventure, friendship and love around every bend. Children will be enriched by narratives that promote play through exploration and scientific thinking.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon’s IMDb (http://www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
About Amazon Studios
Since its launch in November 2010, more than 15,000 movie scripts and 3,600 series pilot scripts have been submitted to Amazon Studios. There are currently 24 movies on the development slate and in the processes of being tested with audiences. The original series announced today are the first set of shows for Amazon Studios.
Amazon Studios continues to invite series creators to upload their proposals for comedy and children’s programming at http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started/series or submit them privately via Amazon Studios.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7” and 8.9”. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.
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Forward-Looking Statements
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