As its existing original programs continue to draw viewers, accolades, and awards, Amazon Studios is looking to add additional series to its library. Its next round of competing pilots will include adaptations of Meg Wolitzer’s acclaimed novel The Interestings and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished work The Last Tycoon, as well as six children’s programs.
The cast of Amazon’s adaptation of The Interestings will include Lauren Ambrose and David Krumholtz, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell helming the pilot. The project, based off Wolitzer’s 2013 book, will chronicles several decades in the life of a group of summer camp friends.
The Last Tycoon, which was published as an unfinished rough draft after Fitzgerald’s 1940 death, will feature its own crop of familiar faces, including Kelsey Grammer, who will portray one of the principal characters. The pilot will be Amazon’s second foray into the world of Fitzgerald. It previously premiered Z, a pilot that stars Christina Ricci as Fitzgerald’s wife Zelda. That project has been picked up for a full season.
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The most significant title among the six children’s pilots that will be featured in Amazon’s upcoming season is Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, an adaptation of a 1970s series by Sid and Marty Krofft. It represents one of several projects the Kroffts have used to advance their collaborative career into the digital age.
“We’re focused on bringing customers compelling, must-see TV and we accomplish this by going directly to them for input,” said Roy Price, Amazon’s VP of digital video. “Our process has proven to work time and time again. Their feedback has helped create series that have become fan favorites among critics and customers.”
According to Variety, the eight pilots in this crop will premiere “next month.” From there, viewers will have an opportunity to offer their input, after which Amazon will choose which projects to greenlight and which ones to decline.
