Amazon launches second wave of pilots

Amazon’s production arm Amazon Studios has debuted a host of new original programme pilots spanning comedy, drama and kids shows.

The 10 pilots launched today on Amazon-owned VOD service Lovefilm in the UK and on Prime Instant Video in the US, with a selection of the shows that prove most popular due to be made into full series.

The new shows mark the second round of Amazon’s original content drive, after an initial batch of pilots, consisting of eight comedies and six kids programmes, premiered in April last year. Five of these were commissioned as series and are due to launch soon.

The new pilot line-up includes: mystery drama The After (pictured), written and directed by Chris Carter (The X-Files); LAPD detective drama Bosch, co-written by Eric Overmyer (The Wire); and comic drama Mozart in the Jungle by Oscar-nominated writer and director Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom).

Other ‘primetime pilots’ include: darkly comic Transparent, written and directed by Jill Soloway (Six Feet Under), and sports comedy The Rebels.

The remaining 10 pilots are all kids shows: Hardboiled Eggheads, created by Duane Capizzi (Transformers Prime); The Jo B. & G. Raff Show from Josh Selig (The Wonder Pets); Wishenproof!, written by Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues); Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street by first-time writer David Anaxagoras; and Maker Shack Agency.

“The first wave of pilots proved incredibly popular with members providing feedback en masse. The initiative is unique in that it puts the viewer at the heart of the decision making process in deciding the shows they’ll be watching in the future,” said Lovefilm’s chief marketing officer, Simon Morris.

Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios, added: “With our previous set of pilots, customers submitted thousands of reviews within the first few days and more than 80 percent of those reviews were four and five stars.”