Amazon Piles on New Shows

Just as earlier Amazon shows Mozart in the Jungle and Transparent were nominated for Golden Globes, we learn five pilots were approved for full seasons.  I provided a summary of all these pilots in an earlier post. 

Overall, I am happy to read Amazon is moving forward with some great new shows, including One Mississippi, a dark comedy about one woman as she deals with death in the family as well as her own declining health; Patriot, that follows a one-family spy machine were the unstable son puts classified information into folk songs at the end of each mission; and Good Girls Revolt, a historic tale that seems more like a cross between Mad Men and The Newsroom. Of the three, Patriot probably surprised me the most for its originality. I think we are looking at the next Transparent in terms of a popular series. 

I am somewhat confused that the odd comedy Highston made the cut. And while Z is a beautiful period piece, it was more an extract from a  longer piece than a stand-alone piece. As far as Edge, which did not get a green light, it was little more than a gore-fest too pleased with flying body parts. Good riddance. 

In at least three of these approved pilots, Amazon is keeping pace with Netflix when it comes to quality programming, and the awards indicate others agree.