Following their Friday debut, the new Amazon Originals TV pilots from Amazon Studios, the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com, were the most watched TV shows across Amazon Instant Video over the weekend, making up 8 out of 10 of the most streamed episodes across the video service.
The pilots, with stars such as
John Goodman,
Jeffrey Tambor and
Bebe Neuwirth, are available exclusively at www.amazonoriginals.com and on the Amazon Instant Video app for Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, as well as hundreds of other connected devices. Already thousands of customer reviews have been submitted with 80% at ratings of 4 and 5 stars.
"For the past year the Amazon Studios team has collaborated with some of the best actors and writers in Hollywood to produce top-quality shows. Now we've handed the remote to our customers to hear what they think," said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. "In just a few days the pilots have received thousands of helpful and sometimes hilarious reviews. Keep the feedback coming - and help us decide which pilots will be turned into full series."
Here's a sampling of feedback from customers since the pilots' launch:
Alpha House: "I was extremely surprised at how much I liked this show. It's intelligently written. What most surprised me was the production quality. Could pass as a show on HBO."
Betas: "Loved it. Laughed. Cringed. Laughed more. Can't wait to see the development in future episodes. Where are they - they ready yet? ;)"
Browsers: "
Bebe Neuwirth could read the phone book and I'd be there. Fortunately, she does a lot more than that! Endearing cast, funny situations. Something I would come back and watch week after week."
Dark Minions: "There is definitely nothing like this out there right now. It's witty, well written, and is just a fantastic concept in general. The stop motion animation is sharp and well done, and it would be great to get some more of that on the air. All in all, an awesome show."
Onion News Network: "Our only complaint was that not enough time was allowed to laugh in between laughs. :) We loved the absurdist comedy!"
Supanatural: "I loved this pilot! I laughed out loud many times. I loved the ending. I want to see what happens next. I loved all the characters. Please make more episodes!"
Those Who Can't: "I love these guys as teachers! I would watch this over and over again. Quirky, funny, adult humor. Are there more episodes?"
Zombieland: "I really enjoyed the movie and this reminds me of a fresh take on the film. Same but different. Like the English version of
The Office vs. the American version. Loved them both. This was funny, campy, a little gory and well-paced with tons of action. The opening is fantastic. Actors were great and thought they had solid chemistry."
Annebots: "What a great show! Preschoolers have a lot of educational TV options out there but there's less and less educational stuff for older kids. This really should be on TV. It was also great seeing non-stereotypical characters too."
Creative Galaxy: "My 5-year-old loved this and wants more. He especially liked 'when they created the library and used paint.' Please make more!"
Positively Ozitively: "This show is amazing. My daughter loved it and I did too. She is asking to watch more!! She also enjoyed seeing how it looks before it's animated."
Sara Solves It: "Loved this...has everything a great preschool show should have... compelling characters, social emotional learning, a curriculum seamlessly weaved into it, cute songs, and an easy-to-follow but relatable story."
Teeny Tiny Dogs: "As a former preschool teacher, I think little ones will be entertained by this program, especially if the ever charming Henson puppets are used in the final production. The lessons are sweet and gentle, humor on their level, and concepts appropriate and relatable. Four stars until I get the opportunity to see the final product - then I
BET it moves to a five."
Tumbleaf: "Magical - no other way to put it - I haven't seen a kids show with such a distinct look and feel in many, many, many years. The viewer is literally transported to this whimsical world where imagination rules. The look is beautiful and the stop motion is charming. This is the type of show that a parent would want to sit with their preschooler to watch. Reminds me of Mr. Fox, and M
R. Rogers Neighborhood."
"Just like in Zombieland, where there are no rules, Amazon is throwing out the rules of conventional television and bringing the power to the viewer," said Rhett Reese, co-creator of the comedy Zombieland, along with Paul Wernick. Wernick adds, "It's really exciting to be doing something different that has the potential to change the way this industry works. We can't wait to hear what people think."
"What I loved about working on the Onion News Empire is that it is so brave, new and funny. The creators vacillate between profound and silly in a nanosecond and never hit the 'wink' button," said
Jeffrey Tambor, who plays
David Bryant in the comedy pilot Onion News Empire. "They are deadly serious and wonderfully nuanced in their hilarity. I'm so happy to be a part of it."
"Amazon Studios has created pilots that nurture the joyful, creative and curious essence of learning that defines early childhood. Parents can feel good about sharing these shows with their children," said Dr. Alice Wilder, Education Psychologist and Curriculum Advisor for Amazon Studios' kids pilots. "With Amazon Studios, parents have the power to help decide which shows are
Made into full series later this year - it's a great way for parents to get involved in what their children are watching on TV."
Comprehensive cast and crew information for each of the Amazon Originals pilots, 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 14,000 movie scripts and 4,000 series pilot scripts have been submitted to Amazon Studios. There are currently 25 movies on the development slate and in the processes of being tested with audiences. The original series announced today are the first set of series pilots 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.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es and www.amazon.com.br. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
