Amazon has announced a new batch of original pilots, some boasting some pretty impressive names, for its streaming video service, proving once again that streaming is the new cable is the new film. All five pilots will be released on August 28 as part of Amazon Instant Video’s third pilot season; as in the past, the fate of each series will be heavily influenced by viewers. So watch, rate, and review the shows you want to succeed. Or don’t. Amazon’s not the boss of you.
The new shows include:
The Cosmopolitans – Directed by Whit Stillman of Metropolitan, The Last Days Of Disco, and every Lena Dunham interview fame, The Cosmopolitans follows the adventures of five American expats living, loving, and probably eating delicious pastries in Paris. Adam Brody and Chloe Sevigny lead the cast.
Hand Of God – World War Z director Marc Forster makes his television debut with Hand Of God, starring Ron Perlman as Judge Pernell Harris. After a brutal rape devastates his family, Harris goes on a good old-fashioned drive-in style revenge spree driven by visions he believes are sent by his favorite call girl’s handicapped son.
Hysteria – Hysteria stars Mena Suvari as a neurologist who returns to her hometown of Austin, Texas to investigate a group of teenage girls whose mysterious mass seizures appear to be spread by technology. Hysteria was written by Shaun Cassidy (yes, that Shaun Cassidy) and directed by British director Otto Bathurst.
Red Oaks – Directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Steven Soderbergh, Red Oaks explores the “go-go” world of 1985 as seen through the eyes of geeky collegiate tennis instructor David (Craig Roberts, Submarine) and a colorful group of wage slaves and wealthy patrons at the Red Oaks Country Club in suburban New Jersey.
Really – Broken Lizard ringleader Jay Chandrasekhar writes, directs and stars in this Chicago-set comedy about a dude (Chandrasekhar) whose best friend’s secret nearly ruins his marriage as well as his friend group. Sarah Chalke and Selma Blair lead the supporting cast.