Skip to main content

Amazon reveals lineup of 8 shows for its next pilot season, so get ready to watch, weigh in

With Amazon’s next pilot season set to kick off in June, the online retail giant/streamer on Thursday revealed its lineup of eight potential upcoming series. Customers will soon get to watch the pilot episodes — two one-hour dramas and six geared toward kids — and weigh in on them to inform Amazon’s programming decisions.

Members in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria, and Japan will be able to participate and provide feedback. The new pilots will be made available online on Amazon Video’s website and via its app on compatible TVs, connected devices, and mobile devices. Those who own 4K Ultra HD TVs will get a treat: The two hourlong pilots, The Last Tycoon and The Interestings, will both be viewable in the high-tech format as well as HDR.

Recommended Videos

Calling for customer input has worked well for Amazon in the past. The feedback has helped the streamer and studio make hits like critical darling Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle, which the company reveals is the most-streamed Amazon Original Series worldwide.

“We’re focused on bringing customers compelling, must-see TV, and we accomplish this by going directly to them for input,” said Roy Price,  vice president of digital video and Amazon Studios, in a statement. “Our process has proven to work time and time again. Their feedback has helped create series that have become fan favorites among critics and customers.”

The upcoming pilot season offers a mixed group of shows. The one-hour pilots focus on two very different issues. The Interestings centers on teenagers who met at summer camp in 1974 and how their friendships evolve over multiple decades. Meanwhile, The Last Tycoon is set in 1930s Hollywood and follows a studio power struggle between a man (played by Matt Bomer) and his mentor (Kelsey Grammer).

The group of kids shows includes both live-action and animated pilots. On the live-action side, there is Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, which is about two brothers who befriend a nice sea monster. The animated pilots are The Curious Kitty and Friends, which follows a cat’s adventures with friends; Little Big Awesome, a pilot using 2D animation, puppetry and live-action footage as it follows two creatures in the “whimsically weird world of Ballopolis”; Morris and the Cow, which centers on an aspiring cowboy; Toasty Tales, a comedy featuring three marshmallow friends; and Jazz Duck, a show that uses sounds and music to encourage preschoolers to “listen and express themselves.”

The shows will all hit Amazon Video on June 17.

Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
Deliver Me from Nowhere trailer: Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen could lead to Oscars
Jeremy Allen White puts his arm in the air and sings into a mic.

Jeremy Allen White grabs his guitar and rocks out as Bruce Springsteen in the official trailer for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

Springsteen and the E Street Band were red-hot entering the '80s following a string of successful albums, including Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and The River. On the cusp of superstardom, the Boss grappled with his past and the pressures of being a rock star. Deliver Me from Nowhere picks up in the early '80s and chronicles the making of Nebraska, Springsteen's 1982 album that many consider his true masterpiece.

Read more
Go behind the scenes of Apple’s latest shot-on-iPhone movie
An iPhone rig used to shoot Big Man.

Apple’s latest effort to show off the potential of the iPhone camera comes in the form of Big Man, a 20-minute fictional film directed by Academy Award-winning director Aneil Karia and starring British music legend Stormzy.

Big Man (below) focuses on Tenzman (Stormzy), a jaded musician who finds warmth and a sense of purpose through an unexpected friendship with two boisterous teens.

Read more
In honor of F1, here are the 7 best racing movies, ranked
Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and other drivers line up and stare in F1.

F1 promises to have some of the best racing sequences in movie history. With the movie coming to theaters soon, now seems like the perfect time to look back at the history of racing movies. While racing is not the most popular sport in a movie, there have been a handful of classics made over the years.

We've compiled the seven best and ranked them for your pleasure. Check out our list below:

Read more