Woody Allen is headed for TV.(Photo: Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images)
Amazon, which has reshaped the publishing and retail industries, took sharper aim at the TV business Tuesday, hiring controversial filmmaker Woody Allen to write and direct his first comedy series.
The online megastore, a more recent entrant to the original streaming business, is becoming a more serious competitor Netflix, along with traditional TV networks. The untitled series will be available next year in the U.S., U.K. and Germany to Amazon Prime customers, encouraging them to continue paying $99 a year by giving them more than 2-day shipping.
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Who should star in Woody Allen's new TV show?
The news comes two days after
Amazon won a pair of Golden Globe Awards for critically praised comedy
Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor, drawing the spotlight as a destination for buzzworthy content, with budgets to match. A second highly praised comedy,
Mozart in the Jungle, was released last month, joining Garry Trudeau's Washington satire
Alpha House; three more series are due this year, including one from director Steven Soderbergh.
And Thursday, it releases a new batch of seven comedy and drama pilots – from producers including Carlton Cuse (
Lost) and Shawn Ryan (
The Shield) -- allowing customers to watch, review and have a small say in deciding which will become regular series. Allen's untitled project, gestating for several months though it has no title, cast or concept, won't need that seal of approval.
"I don't know how I got into this," Allen said in a statement. "I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that (Amazon Studios chief) Roy Price will regret this."
USA TODAY
Woody Allen to write/direct Amazon TV series
Although Amazon, like Netflix, refuses to disclose how many people watch its shows, the buzz factor is drawing new attention from the Hollywood community, and talent agents are increasingly willing to bring projects there, along with Netflix, which is rapidly expanding its own lineup of original series.
Edie Falco, who stars on Showtime's
Nurse Jackie, marvels at the new viewing options: "The stuff that I've been watching lately has been on (platforms) like Amazon Prime, where I used to go to get my toilet paper."
Adds her boss, Showtime president David Nevins: "There are definitely a lot of people coming into the premium space trying to make high quality stuff, and it's a competitive world, but I think we're very well situated to compete going forward. But I think
Transparent is a great show. It's a show that I wish we had."
Media analyst Michael Nathanson says competition, coupled with challenges facing the traditional TV business, has made producers and actors more willing to embrace new formats.
"Having that kind of success tends to breed more success," says media analyst Michael Nathanson, with a broader array of options for big-budget TV content on the web. Still unclear is how deep Amazon's pockets will be to sustain this level of programming, and how it will judge its success.
Though Allen hasn't been a big box-office draw of late – and has his own personal baggage amid allegations of child abuse – Nathanson likens his cache to that of another comedian who signed a four-movie deal with Netflix.
"Adam Sandler may not be the most (well)-attended movie star, but he has a loyal following, and with a different business model there's probably some profitability there," he says.
Joel McHale, whose cancelled NBC comedy
Community is being revived by Yahoo on March 17, says streaming sites increasingly match cable outlets such as HBO and AMC in offering "the same sort of very specific and high level of quality that did not exist. It seems like they're letting (creators) do what they want to do…and you can feel there are less constraints," he says. "Everyone's game is so raised, and now the safe bet is now the unsafe bet."
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