Amazon to launch pilots for possible series

AMAZON STUDIOS FACEBOOK
New pilots include Z, starring Christina Ricci (above), and Edge, a western drama. PHOTO: AMAZON STUDIOS FACEBOOK
AMAZON STUDIOS FACEBOOK
New pilots include Z, starring Christina Ricci, and Edge (above), a western drama. PHOTO: AMAZON STUDIOS FACEBOOK

NEW YORK • New shows from Louis C.K., Sacha Baron Cohen, Diablo Cody, Tig Notaro and Shane Black will be included in a slate of pilots to debut on Amazon in the United States, Britain, Germany and Austria for the 2015 fall pilot season.

The company said on Wednesday it would ask viewers for feedback and turn the most popular pilots into full series.

The resulting series will be available only to the company's Prime customers.

It will announce which shows will become series, in part based on viewer feedback, after the pilot season ends. Those periods typically last around 30 days.

The announcement comes days after a former Amazon pilot, Transparent, won five Emmy Awards, including for best lead actor in a comedy, for its star Jeffrey Tambor. The show's creator Jill Soloway was named best comedy director.

The pilots include Z, about Zelda Fitzgerald (played by Christina Ricci) and her relationship with husband F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gavin Stenhouse), author of The Great Gatsby.

Another, One Mississippi, a dark comedy about a woman coping with the loss of her mother, features comedian Louis C.K. as executive producer and Juno scriptwriter Diablo Cody as co-writer.

It is the latest autobiographical project from comic Notaro, who won acclaim for her revealing stand-up act, Boyish Girl Interrupted, and was recently the subject of a Netflix documentary.

Other pilots include Edge, a western drama based on George G. Gilman's book series and whose pilot is directed by Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3); period drama Good Girls Revolt based on the Lynn Povich book; political thriller Patriot featuring Terry O'Quinn (Lost) and Kurtwood Smith (That '70s Show); as well as the comedy Highston, which has Sacha Baron Cohen as an executive producer.

Shaquille O'Neal and Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, guest star in the Highston pilot.

NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 25, 2015, with the headline Amazon to launch pilots for possible series. Subscribe