Six new kids pilots will be available, including preschool project The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop, and animated shows for ages six to 11 Lost In Oz, Lily the Unicorn, and Bear in Underwear, as well as live-action shows A History of Radness and The Kicks
Projects come from accomplished roster of creative talent, including David Babcock(Brothers & Sisters, Gilmore Girls),Andrew Green(Hannah Montana, Suddenly Susan),Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio(Marvel Universe Live, Evergone), The Jim Henson Company(The Muppets, Fraggle Rock), as well as Bureau of Magic’s Abram Makowka,Darin Mark, Jared Mark, andMark Warshaw(East Los High, Smallville)
Amazon's unique development process gives customers—and their kids—an opportunity to watch, rate and comment on which pilots they want turned into Amazon Original Series that are then available to Prime members
London - 16th June 2015 - Amazon today announced it will debut its next kids pilot season of 2015 on Friday, June 26 on Amazon Instant Video in the UK, Germany and US. Four animated kids pilots—The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop, Lost In Oz, Lily the Unicorn, and Bear in Underwear-will premiere along with two live-action kids pilots-A History of Radness and The Kicks. The new pilots will come from an accomplished roster of creative talent, including David Babcock (Brothers & Sisters, Gilmore Girls), Andrew Green (Hannah Montana, Suddenly Susan), Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio (Marvel Universe Live, Evergone), The Jim Henson Company (The Muppets, Fraggle Rock), as well as Bureau of Magic’s Abram Makowka, Darin Mark, Jared Mark, and Mark Warshaw (East Los High, Dirty Little Secret, Smallville). Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the shows they want to see turned into full series for Prime members. All pilots will be available via Amazon Prime Instant Video in the UK on more than 400 devices, including Amazon Fire TV and the newly released Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets, Fire HD Kids Edition, iPad, iPhone, Amazon Fire Phone, Android phones, Android tablets, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and Wii U, and online at www.amazon.co.uk/PIV.
“Each of these new pilots bring a quality level of character and storytelling that naturally connect with kids and families,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “We look forward to bringing the combination of great talent, hard work and remarkable vision to our customers.”
Amazon’s new kids pilots include:
- Lost in Oz (for children ages 6-11)
Produced by Mark Warshaw and Darin Mark, written by Abram Makowka, Darin Mark and Jared Mark of Bureau of Magic (East Los High, Dirty Little Secret, Smallville), designed by Flaunt Productions (Under Siege, Project Spark), and animated by Arc Productions (9, Gnomeo & Juliet), Lost in Oz is a serialised action adventure comedy reimagining L. Frank Baum’s universe in a textured, contemporary vision. When 12-year-old Dorothy Gale discovers her mother’s mysterious travel journal from Oz hidden beneath the floorboards of her Kansas home, she and her dog, Toto are transported into a bustling, modern Emerald City. Disoriented and determined to get home to Kansas, Dorothy will need to acquire every element on the “Periodic Table of Magic” when those resources are most scarce. Dorothy is thrust into a friendship with West, a witch, and Ojo, a giant Munchkin, and together seek out the magic Dorothy needs to get home.
- Lily the Unicorn (for children ages 6-11)
Lily is not only a remarkable, colourful, and comical gal—she is truly one-in-a-million. Her unique perspective and independent spirit can brighten up any situation and often leads her and her loyal friends into unexpected shenanigans. In Lily’s world, anything is possible: A simple song she hums can go viral and top the charts. A quiet surprise picnic for her best friend Roger can lead to a city-wide adventure featuring falafel waffles (yum) and a wise guru (of course). Lily the Unicorn puts a hilarious spin on everyday situations as Lily transforms even the most typical day into something extraordinary. Lily the Unicorn is based on the hit children’s book by Dallas Clayton (An Awesome Book) and produced by The Jim Henson Company (The Muppets, Fraggle Rock).
- Bear in Underwear (for children ages 6-11)
If there’s one thing any forest creature needs before stepping out to greet the day it's...underwear? At least that is the way the lovable cast of Bear in Underwear sees things! Welcome to Shady Glade Woods where Eddie Behr, an eternally optimistic, high energy bear, and his quirky group of animal friends and family reside. Eddie aspires to be a forest legend just like his dad, who discovered “pants” at an abandoned campsite (well, actually, what he really discovered were tighty whiteys….but no one knows the difference!). Although Eddie is eager to make just as positive an impact on his community as his father did, he soon realises that success may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Delightful hijinks ensue in a world full of forest animals who look at everything from a slightly skewed point of view. Bear in Underwear is based on the bestselling books by Todd Goldman and written by Goldman and Dave Schiff (That 70s Show, Robot and Monster).
- A History of Radness (for children ages 6-11)
Written and Executive Produced by Andrew Green (Hannah Montana), A History of Radness captures the authentic experience of aspiring musicians forming their band. The story follows siblings Jack and Tessie from their less-than-cool middle school beginnings at Pleasant Meadows Middle School to the start of their music careers as they put together a band of like-minded musicians, considered outsiders by fellow classmates. The project is also Executive Produced by Skot Bright (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Running Down a Dream) and will feature original music. Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, Black Flag) guest stars as Coach Carlucci.
- The Kicks (for children ages 6-11)
Devin Burke was the star player on her football team back home until her family moved to California midway through the school year. Now, Devin has to rise to the challenge after discovering that her new school team has been on a losing streak over the last few months and is badly in need of a leader to rally the team together. Based on a book series by US Olympic Gold Medallist football player Alex Morgan and adapted by David Babcock (Brothers & Sisters, Gilmore Girls), the project is Executive Produced by Todd Cohen (Kath & Kim) and novelist James Frey and his company Full Fathom Five and directed by Liz Allen (Ramona & Beezus, Aquamarine).
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios recently debuted new episodes of its first live-action series for kids six to 11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, and has also launched three additional children’s series, the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela C. Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Emmy-nominated and Youth Media Alliance Awards Grand Prize winner Annedroids, from Sinking Ship Entertainment. All four children’s series have been picked up for second seasons and honuored by the Parents’ Choice Foundation. The studio has also debuted its first original drama series Bosch based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books; dramatic comedy Mozart in the Jungle from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Paul Weitz, and Jill Soloway’s multi-Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy Transparent.
Amazon Studios has also announced eight additional, original series will premiere in 2015 and early 2016 exclusive to Amazon, including kids series Wishenpoof, Just Add Magic, and The Stinky & Dirty Show as well as original series Hand of God, Mad Dogs, The Man in the High Castle, docu-series The New Yorker Presents, Red Oaks, and second seasons of Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle and Bosch.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series-one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.
About Prime Instant Video
Amazon Prime Instant Video is the UK’s largest online video streaming service, offering subscriber’s unlimited access to over 15,000 popular movies and TV episodes. As well as exclusive TV and film content, such as Ripper Street, Outlander, Vikings, TURN, The Great Gatsby and Divergent, Amazon Prime Instant Video is the only place to watch critically acclaimed Amazon Original shows, such as 2015 Golden Globe winning TV Series Transparent and critically acclaimed Mozart in the Jungle and Ripper Street Series 3. Amazon Prime Instant Video also offers customers unprecedented picture clarity with Amazon Original shows available for unlimited streaming in Ultra HD at no extra cost on compatible Sony, Samsung and LG Ultra HD smart TVs.
Amazon Prime Instant Video is available on more than 400 devices, including Amazon Fire TV and the newly released Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets, Fire HD Kids Edition, iPad, Android tablets, iPhone, Amazon Fire Phone, Android phones Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and Wii U, and through the web at www.amazon.co.uk/PIV. Amazon Prime Instant Video is available at no extra cost to Prime members, who also benefit from unlimited One-Day Delivery on over 9 million items, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive and access to 800,000 Kindle books to borrow.
Customers who are not already members can start a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime by visiting www.amazon.co.uk/prime. For more information about Prime Instant Video, visit www.amazon.co.uk/PIV.
Amazon also offers all customers more than 50,000 popular movies and TV episodes available to digitally rent or buy through Amazon Instant Video, including latest releases like American Sniper, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Big Hero 6, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, and now the complete Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalised recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
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