If you’re living under a rock- or if you don’t have Amazon Prime- you may not have noticed that Amazon’s original series have been on the brink of a new media revolution.
No, really.
After winning two golden globes (one for best series- comedy or musical and the other as best actor- comedy or musical, to which Jeffrey Tambor was awarded) for their original series Transparent, Amazon Studios sent out a congratulatory tweet to the cast while simultaneously announcing to the rest of the internet that Yes, an Amazon series actually won two golden globes:
Congratulations to #Transparent from the entire Amazon Studios team! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/ZGk3N5mB5P
— Amazon Studios (@Amazon_Studios) January 12, 2015
Even more stunning and surprising was the speed in which Amaon.com placed the victory banner ad on the front of their website shortly after the announcement:
I say good on Amazon. It’s about time that people have access to programming that pushes the envelope in its category. With cable continuing to be ridiculously overpriced, it’s become abundantly clear that Television has started to become a sinking ship. Year after year we’ve seen TV programs- some of which are considered the most successful- reach the lowest-most watched by viewer index than any year previous because thanks to streaming services like Roku, Netflix or Amazon, there’s no need to sit through a ridiculous amount of ads just to enjoy the content you want.
Now that we’ve begun to see television networks flock to famous YouTube stars to star in their shows, it’s even more evident that television programming has in many cases remained too traditional. Had networks started employing YouTube stars earlier then perhaps they could have bought out their new-media competitors. As for now, the future of entertainment media seems to be insane in terms of how free people will be to enjoy content that they actually want. Amazon expels this freedom probably better than its competitors because it actually lets Amazon Prime members and even simple Amazon account users vote on series that they want to be developed by Amazon Studios.
The new Amazon Originals Pilots have arrived! Watch. Rate. Review now on #AmazonPrime http://t.co/KUqsmMhJtT pic.twitter.com/Wy9VhhevVh — Amazon Studios (@Amazon_Studios) January 15, 2015
If you feel like taking the Amazon-original plunge, don’t forget you can watch the first episode of each Amazon original series (even the new prospective ones) for free, and vote to share your opinion on which shows Amazon Studios should invest in more for a full-fledged series
Although the future may be unknown in terms of media programming, one thing to be sure about the present is this; with a super flux of original series (Alpha House and Transparent are among my favorites so far), Amazon is not only showing that they’re willing to take risks, they’re also showing that there is a certain distinctive, winning formula in choosing a show to feature as An Amazon Original.
And don’t think their award grabbing is limited to just adult-oriented programming, even their original children’s shows have begun scooping up awards:
We’re so honored to be recognized by Parent’s Choice for all of our Amazon Originals Kids Shows! pic.twitter.com/fB4x63umjH
— Amazon Studios (@Amazon_Studios) January 26, 2015
While other FCC-regulated networks and cable programs have to abide by the safety (and dullness) of traditional television standards, Amazon and Netflix have not only satisfied expectations; they’ve superseded them.