Amazon has jumped head first into the world of original online programming just as Netflix, its main competitor for that market, has been doing for the past year. Netflix saw tremendous success with its Kevin Spacey produced and starring vehicle “House of Cards,” an American remake of a British miniseries and the Steven Van Zandt hit series “Lillyhammer.” Next up for the live streaming and DVD service is the return of all new episodes of Jason Bateman and the gang in “Arrested Development” and the highly anticipated new supernatural series “Hemlock Grove.”
Hoping to tap into the growing market of online and live streaming programming Amazon has at least 14 of its own new shows in production with the most eagerly awaited thought to be “Zombieland,” a series based on the successful big screen cult film which starred Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone. The Amazon series which had already completed its pilot and several episodes does not star any of the film’s actors which is one of the biggest reasons it failed so badly among online viewers. Also the fact that the writing for the pilot lacked any originality gave reviewers the kind of target they needed to firmly plant several well placed shots into its cranium causing Amazon to drop the series like a bad virus.
Zombieland’s replacement will be a political comedy titled “Alpha House” starring the very versatile John Goodman. It has garnered rave reviews by those who have watched its pilot. While the zombie show was lucky to get an average of 3 out of 5 stars, the Goodman show was a consistant 4 star rater according to Reuters.
Alpha House promises wit and satire and comes from the pen of Doonesbury creator, Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer-Prize winner Garry Trudeau. The series centers on the lives of four Senators sharing the same Washington D.C. home. Some are calling it The West Wing with a sense of humor. Costarring with Goodman are Clark Johnson, Matt Malloy, and Mark Consuelos. Some acting names of note making guest appearances are Bill Murray, Haley Joel Osment, Brooke Bloom and Ted King. The pilot is available for viewing on Amazon.com.
Sigh, shame. I rather liked the Zombieland Series, I personally thought it had a lot of potential, and it was clearly the only series from amazon with any sort of fame (just check the torrent sites, you can’t even find any of the other pilots).
Ah well, what’re you gonna do. Apprently a lot of people hated it because they couldn’t get past the recasting.
I think the pilot shows how essential good casting can be.
The movie worked because of the casting. The pilot didn’t works as well because the actors didn’t have the same chemistry.