If ever there was a time for Amazon to get serious about becoming a major house for original content, it’s right now, considering the runaway success ofTransparent, as well as more minor hits likeBoschandAlpha House. And from the look of the crop of new pilots that they are preparing to release this Fall, it does indeed seem like the company is not only getting serious about their original series, but also looking for material as ambitious and unlikely asTransparent. This would begin withOne Mississippi, the dark comedy series from the brilliantTig Notaro, who famously did an entire stand-up routine about her breast-cancer diagnosis and, in her recent HBO stand-up special, spent much of her stage time without a shirt, boldly presenting the aftermath of her cancer surgery. Her bleak-yet-hilarious brand of humor caught the attention ofLouis C.K., who serves as an executive producer onOne Mississipi, andNicole Holofcener, the filmmaker behindPlease GiveandLovely & Amazing, who directed the pilot.
This isn’t to say that the streaming service isn’t looking to tap into existing markets as well.Shane Black, who has yet to properly follow-up the exceptional work he did directing and writingIron Man 3, still the best of the MCU films, is helmingEdge, a violent Western series starringCaptain Phillips’Max Martinias the titular gunslinger andTrue Blood’sRyan Kwantenin a supporting role. And in the historical fiction realm, there’sZ, which sadly is not a new take onCosta-Gavras’ classic political thriller but rather the story of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (Christina Ricci), the original flapper and contentious wife to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Even amongst a slew of anticipated TV releases, Amazon’s line-up shows a startling jump in the streaming service’s moxie and a newfound enthusiasm for auteur-driven work.
Here’s the official synopses for all of Amazon’s Fall pilots:
Based on George G. Gilman’s best-selling book series of the same name, which has been described as “the most violent western in print,”Edgeshowcases the sly, raw power of the western genre. Set in 1868,Max Martini(Pacific Rim, Captain Phillips) stars as Josiah ‘Edge' Hedges—a Union officer turned cowboy, who prowls the post-Civil War American West doling out his own peculiar (and savage) brand of justice. When we meet Edge in the pilot, his mission is personal and his vengeance hath no fury.Edgealso starsRyan Kwanten(True Blood) as Merritt Harknett, andYvonne Strahovski(The Astronaut Wives Club, Chuck) as Beth.Edgewas developed byShane Black(Lethal Weapon,Iron Man 3) andFred Dekker(Tales from the Crypt, Star Trek: Enterprise), teleplay by Dekker and Black, is directed by Black, and executive produced by Black, Dekker,Barry Josephson(Bones, Turn: Washington Spies), andDavid Greenblatt(Battle Los Angeles).
Good Girls Revolt
In 1969, while a cultural revolution with a soundtrack to match swept through the free world, there was still one place that refused to change with the times: newsrooms.Good Girls Revoltfollows a group of young female researchers at “News of the Week,” who simply ask to be treated fairly. Their revolutionary request will spark convulsive changes and upend marriages, careers, sex lives, love lives, and friendships.Good Girls RevoltstarsGenevieve Angelson(Backstrom) as Patti,Anna Camp(Pitch Perfect)as Jane,Erin Darke(We Need to Talk About Kevin) as Cindy,Chris Diamantopoulos(Silicon Valley)as Finn,Hunter Parrish(Weeds) as Doug,Jim Belushi(Show Me a Hero) as Wick McFadden,Joy Bryant(Parenthood) as Eleanor Holmes Norton, andGrace Gummeras Nora Ephron. A co-production with TriStar Television,Good Girls Revoltis written and created byDana Calvo(Made in Jersey), directed byLiza Johnson(Return), and executive produced by Calvo,Lynda Obst(Interstellar),Darlene Hunt(The Big C),Don Kurt(Justified) andJeff Okin(Dark Skies, Stanley Park). The pilot is inspired by the landmark sexual discrimination cases chronicled in Lynn Povich’s book,The Good Girls Revolt.
Highston Liggetts (newcomerLewis Pullman) is a 19-year-old with a wide circle of celebrity friends—that only he can see. His parents, Jean (Mary Lynn Rajskub,24), and Wilbur (Chris Parnell,Saturday Night Live) force him to get psychiatric help, but his Uncle Billy (Curtis Armstrong,American Dad!) thinks he’s just fine.Highstonis a comedy about what it means to be normal in a world that’s anything but. The pilot guest starsShaquille O’Neal(Thunderstruck) andFlea(The Big Lewbowski), and is written by Oscar-nomineeBob Nelson(Nebraska), directed by Independent Spirit Award winnersJonathan DaytonandValerie Faris(Little Miss Sunshine),and executive produced bySacha Baron Cohen(The Dictator),Todd Hoffman(Love Stinks), Nelson, andTodd Schulman(Bruno).
One Mississippi
A dark comedy, loosely inspired byTig Notaro’s(Boyish Girl Interrupted) life,One Mississippifollows Tig as she deals with the complex reentry into her childhood hometown of Bay Saint Lucille, Mississippi, to deal with the unexpected death of her mother, the interminable life of the party, Caroline. Reeling from her own recently declining health, Tig struggles to find her footing with the loss of the one person who actually understood her, with help from her older but not always wiser brother, Remy, played byNoah Harpster(Transparent), and her emotionally distant stepfather, Bill, played byJohn Rothman(The Devil Wears Prada). A surprise visit from Tig’s girlfriend, Brooke, played byCasey Wilson(Gone Girl) only compounds the reality of how out of place Tig is in a world without her mother. A co-production with FX Productions,One Mississippiis written and executive produced by Notaro andDiablo Cody(Juno), executive produced byLouis CK(Louie),Blair Breard(Louie), andDave Becky(Everybody Hates Chris), with pilot directed and executive produced byNicole Holofcener(Enough Said).
The political thrillerPatriotfollows the complicated life of intelligence officer John Tavner (Australian newcomerMichael Dorman,Wonderland). His latest assignment is to prevent Iran from going nuclear, requiring him to forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous “non-official cover” – that of a mid-level employee at a Midwestern industrial piping firm. A bout with PTSD, the Federal government’s incompetence, and the intricacies of keeping a day job in the “front” industrial piping company, cause a barrage of ever-escalating fiascos that jeopardize Tavner’s mission. The pilot also starsTerry O’Quinn(Lost)as Tom Tavner, John’s State Department Director of Intelligence father,Michael Chernus(Manhattan Project), as John’s older brother Edward Tavner, a young Texas congressman,Kathleen Munroe(Call Me Fitz),as John’s wife Alice,Aliette Opheim(Sandor slash Ida) as Agathe, a brilliant young homicide detective from Luxembourg hot on John’s trail, andKurtwood Smith(That 70sShow) as Mr. Claret, John’s stickler of a new “boss” at the piping firm.Patriotis written and directed bySteven Conrad(The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Weather Man), and executive produced by Conrad,Gil Bellows(Temple Grandin),Glen Ficarra(Crazy Stupid Love, Focus),Charlie Gogolak(Focus), andJohn Requa(Crazy Stupid Love, Focus).
Zis a bio-series pilot based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the brilliant, beautiful and talented Southern Belle who becomes the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant Jazz Age in the 20s. StarringChristina Ricci(Monster) as Zelda Sayre,Zstarts before she meets the unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gavin Stenhouse,Allegiance), and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and their marriage—made in heaven, lived out in hell as the celebrity couple of their time. The series travels through the wild parties, the wicked jazz, the dissolute artists of the era, as well as the alcoholism, adultery and struggle with dashed dreams and mental illness that characterizes their later years.Zdives into the fascinating life of a woman ahead of her time, an artist determined to establish her own identity in the tempestuous wake of a world-famous husband. The show pulls back the curtain on her triumphs and dark secrets. It’s a modern take on one of the most notorious love stories of all time, played out in salons and speak-easies from Montgomery, Alabama to the Cote D’Azur.Zis written by Dawn Prestwich (The Killing) andNicole Yorkin(The Killing), directed byTim Blake Nelson(Anesthesia), and executive produced byPamela Koffler(Still Alice) andChristine Vachon(One Hour Photo) of Killer Films, as well as Ricci. The show also guest starsDavid Strathairn(Good Night and Good Luck)as Judge Anthony Dickerson Sayre,Kristine Nielsen(Savages) as Minnie Sayre,Maya Kazan(The Knick) as Livye Hart,Sarah Schenkkan(30 Rock) as Eleanor Browder,Jamie Anne Allman(The Killing) as Tootsie Sayre, andHolly Curran(Alpha House) as Tilde Sayre.
