6 posts tagged alpha house

Best-selling author and journalist Jonathan Alter (The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies, The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope) explains what it has been like to go Hollywood and produce a pilot for Amazon – Alpha House, created by Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). Alter explains the real-life roots of the show and what it was like to work with Trudeau, as well as with an amazing cast led by John Goodman. And those cameos! (Might there be more Stephen Colbert? Read on.)

For most of my life I’ve been a political animal. My mother was a politician in Chicago, I was an intern in the Senate and the White House in the 1970s, and for the last two decades I’ve written a column about politics (first for Newsweek, now for Bloomberg View), authored books about presidents and gabbed about the events of the day on NBC News and MSNBC. But becoming an accidental executive producer of a scripted TV series about politicians is a whole new experience for me. Actually, Alpha House is a new experience for everyone, given that we’re at the dawn of a new age of online television. It’s been ridiculously fun and my friends are insanely jealous.

I don’t honestly know how the idea for Alpha House started. Garry Trudeau hasn’t told me and he probably doesn’t know himself. As I learned in 1990 when I profiled him for Newsweek on the 20^th anniversary of Doonesbury, Garry has all of these characters and bits of political and cultural news dancing in his head and he’s never sure where they will land.

After I wrote about him, Garry and I became friends and we developed a quadrennial ritual of traveling together to New Hampshire for the presidential primary. In January of 2012, I was reporting for my new book about the campaign and Garry seemed focused on his strip. Then at dinner one night in Manchester he casually mentioned he had been developing a project about four senators living in a man-cave on Capitol Hill, based on the real-life living arrangement of four Democratic legislators. He thought making them Republicans would be funnier. One thing led to another and the project took off.

All of the characters in Alpha House are original, though elements of the Republican senators played by John Goodman, Clark Johnson, Matt Malloy, Mark Consuelos and (in a profane cameo) Bill Murray, can be found in the politicians of both parties that Garry has sometimes put in his comic strip. Political junkies will notice other details in the pilot that connect to the news. Future episodes (which will be produced if you tell Amazon you like the pilot) will have plenty more real stuff, filtered through Garry’s creative genius.

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Following their Friday debut, the new Amazon Originals TV pilots from Amazon Studios were the most watched TV shows across Amazon Instant Video over the weekend, making up 8 out of 10 of the most streamed episodes across the video service. Already thousands of customer reviews have been submitted with 80% at ratings of 4 and 5 stars.

“For the past year the Amazon Studios team has collaborated with some of the best actors and writers in Hollywood to produce top-quality shows. Now we’ve handed the remote to our customers to hear what they think,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “In just a few days the pilots have received thousands of helpful and sometimes hilarious reviews. Keep the feedback coming—and help us decide which pilots will be turned into full series.”

Here’s a sampling of feedback from customers since the pilots’ launch:

• Alpha House: “I was extremely surprised at how much I liked this show. It’s intelligently written. What most surprised me was the production quality. Could pass as a show on HBO.”
• Betas: “Loved it. Laughed. Cringed. Laughed more. Can’t wait to see the development in future episodes. Where are they—they ready yet? ;)”
• Browsers: “Bebe Neuwirth could read the phone book and I’d be there. Fortunately, she does a lot more than that! Endearing cast, funny situations. Something I would come back and watch week after week.”
• Dark Minions: “There is definitely nothing like this out there right now. It’s witty, well written, and is just a fantastic concept in general. The stop motion animation is sharp and well done, and it would be great to get some more of that on the air. All in all, an awesome show.”
• Onion News Empire: “Our only complaint was that not enough time was allowed to laugh in between laughs. :) We loved the absurdist comedy!”
• Supanatural:”I loved this pilot! I laughed out loud many times. I loved the ending. I want to see what happens next. I loved all the characters. Please make more episodes!”
• Those Who Can’t: “I love these guys as teachers! I would watch this over and over again. Quirky, funny, adult humor. Are there more episodes?”
• Zombieland: “I really enjoyed the movie and this reminds me of a fresh take on the film. Same but different. Like the English version of The Office vs. the American version. Loved them both. This was funny, campy, a little gory and well-paced with tons of action. The opening is fantastic. Actors were great and thought they had solid chemistry.”
• Annebots: “What a great show! Preschoolers have a lot of educational TV options out there but there’s less and less educational stuff for older kids. This really should be on TV. It was also great seeing non-stereotypical characters too.”
• Creative Galaxy: “My 5-year-old loved this and wants more. He especially liked ‘when they created the library and used paint.’ Please make more!”
• Positively Ozitively: “This show is amazing. My daughter loved it and I did too. She is asking to watch more!! She also enjoyed seeing how it looks before it’s animated.”
• Sara Solves It: “Loved this…has everything a great preschool show should have…compelling characters, social emotional learning, a curriculum seamlessly weaved into it, cute songs, and an easy-to-follow but relatable story.”
• Teeny Tiny Dogs: “As a former preschool teacher, I think little ones will be entertained by this program, especially if the ever charming Henson puppets are used in the final production. The lessons are sweet and gentle, humor on their level, and concepts appropriate and relatable. Four stars until I get the opportunity to see the final product—then I bet it moves to a five.”
• Tumbleaf: “Magical—no other way to put it—I haven’t seen a kids show with such a distinct look and feel in many, many, many years. The viewer is literally transported to this whimsical world where imagination rules. The look is beautiful and the stop motion is charming. This is the type of show that a parent would want to sit with their preschooler to watch. Reminds me of Mr. Fox, and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.”

“Just like in Zombieland, where there are no rules, Amazon is throwing out the rules of conventional television and bringing the power to the viewer,” said Rhett Reese, co-creator of the comedy Zombieland, along with Paul Wernick. Wernick adds, “It’s really exciting to be doing something different that has the potential to change the way this industry works.”

Comprehensive cast and crew information for each of the Amazon Originals pilots, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon’s IMDb.

Amazon Studios has an open door for creators, and continues to invite writers to submit their proposals for comedy and children’s programming.