Amazon Moves Forward on First-Ever Original Series

SEATTLE: The comedy pilots Alpha House and Betas, along with the kids’ pilots Annebots, Creative Galaxy and Tumbleaf, are headed into production for full series that will air exclusively in the U.S. on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video.

Amazon and LOVEFiLM had given customers the chance to screen a number of pilots and provide feedback, which Amazon Studios used to decide which pilots would be made into original series. The greenlit selections will now head into production for full episodes, to launch later this year and in early 2014 on the online streaming service. Amazon’s LOVEFiLM will be the exclusive home for the content in the U.K.

“We are thrilled at the enthusiastic customer response to our first original pilots,” said Roy Price, the 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,” added 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,” commented 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.”