It’s that time of year again: Amazon has just released its third set of original web video pilots, and the Seattle-based company is turning to its customers to find out which shows they want to see picked up as full series.
This season’s slate includes three comedies and two dramas, for a total of 3-and-a-half hours of video programming. Not everybody has that kind of time, so here’s my take on Amazon’s shows, to help you figure out which ones you might want to watch, and which ones to skip.
Red Oaks
Longing for a trip back to the 80s? You’ll appreciate “Red Oaks,” a story of a Jewish boy spending his summer as an assistant tennis pro at a bourgeois New York country club.
It’s heavy on the spectacle and light on real content, but people who enjoy all the tropes of so-bad-it’s-good 80s movies starring teenagers will find a lot to like in Red Oaks. There’s one montage sequence in particular that really sings in a way that the rest of the episode doesn’t, and was the high point in my experience.
The one problem with hanging a show on tired conventions from old movies is that it’s really easy to slip back and forth between an amusing homage and genuinely bad television. More often than not, I found that Red Oaks was on the wrong side of that line, though others will almost certainly differ. Verdict: Pass, unless you really like 80s movies or High School Musical.
The Cosmopolitans
“The Cosmopolitans” is a show about a bunch of American expatriates in Paris trying to figure out how to act like American expatriates in Paris. In other words, it’s about a group of young people with glaring character flaws. For example: one man remains horribly in love with an ex-girlfriend, while another is trying so hard to fit in as a Parisian that it’s painful to watch.
The ensemble cast showed a lot of promise (especially Chloe Sevigny and Adriano Giannini), as does the show’s premise and its artful use of Paris as a backdrop. People expecting a laugh-riot are probably going to be disappointed. Still, it seems like a smart show that has the potential to go places.
“The Cosmopolitans” will test how seriously Amazon takes audience feedback, because the pilot really did feel lukewarm, but the premise and cast of characters seem to have the most promise out of its entire crop of comedies.
Verdict: It’s hard to say. Watch if you have a spare half hour and you feel like getting a foot in the door with this show, but it’s not worth making a big deal over it.
Really
Amazon can’t quite escape the curse of the comedy that takes to the extreme the freedom it’s given to address sex, drugs and nudity. “Really” is this season’s example of that curse.
The show, written and starred in by comedian Jay Chandrasekhar, is about a group of friends who are trying to navigate adult, married life, even as they try to cling to frat house antics that provided fun in the past. The show opens with a joke about male breasts (at the expense of Chandrasekhar’s character), and basically doesn’t let up with the sexual humor from then on.
There are a few glimpses of something more complex hidden inside the pilot, but it isn’t enough for me to want more.
Unlike last year’s “The Rebels,” I didn’t hate watching every minute of “Really,” but it left me feeling vaguely unsettled after watching it. The pilot is a bit like a Big Mac: it has a bunch of ingredients that work well, and it’s enjoyable to consume, but once it’s done, you can’t help but feel a bit dirty.
Verdict: Skip it, unless you really want to watch a half-hour of straight sex humor.
Hand of God
Hand of God seems like the sort of show that’s designed to depress people who would otherwise be eternally happy. Ron Perlman puts in a solid performance as Judge Pernell Harris, a man who has a psychotic break before being driven to find the man who raped his daughter-in-law while her husband — his son — was forced to watch.
Here’s the twist: Harris believes that his vigilante spree is motivated by messages from God, who is speaking to him through his son. Going into this article, I was expecting “Hand” to treat those messages with a bit more credulity than they might otherwise deserve, but the show provides some healthy skepticism about Harris’s mental state, which is nice.
“Hand” is bleak, dark and depressing — and that’s at the show’s absolute happiest. Still, Perlman is a force of nature, and he’s surrounded by a cast that is mostly able to keep up. I probably won’t continue watching, just because I like a bit less darkness in my televised entertainment, but people who want to be dragged into a black pit of despair will probably enjoy it. Verdict: Watch as a double feature with a favorite Disney Movie. I recommend The Incredibles.
Hysteria
“Hysteria” stems from a simple concept: what happens if social media could make people sick? If that sort of medical mystery drama is something that appeals to you, “Hysteria” will be a welcome addition to your TV watching.
The good news is Mena Suvari puts in an amazing performance in the lead role as a tortured neurologist/psychologist. The bad news is that she’s surrounded by less-powerful actors and actresses, and the show’s conceit seems…thin. Verdict: If you really like scientific mysteries like “House” or “Fringe,” “Hysteria” is up your alley. Otherwise, I’d probably skip it.
All in all, this seems to me like a fairly typical pilot season for Amazon. The shows are a mixed bag, but a number of them carry glimmers of hope for the future. If I had to take bets, I’d say that “Hysteria,” “Hand of God,” and “Red Oaks” are shoo-ins for a full season pick-up, with “The Cosmopolitans” also a likely choice.
If you’re interested in watching the pilots for yourself, or casting your own vote in Amazon’s survey, you can do so here.
