Nellie Andreeva

After declining to comment when word on some of its pilot orders recently got out, Amazon Studios, the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com, today announced its first original slate of six comedy pilots from industry veterans and Hollywood newcomers. These are Amazon’s first green lights since the studio expanded into original programming development earlier this year. In addition to projects from professional writers, Amazon also went after ideas by aspiring creators solicited through Amazon Studios’ site. Once the six pilots are completed, they will be posted on Amazon Instant Video for Amazon customers to watch for free. Viewer feedback will help determine which of them will be picked up to series. “Since launching our original series development effort, we have received more than 2,000 series ideas from creators around the world with all different backgrounds, and we are extremely excited to begin production on our very first set of pilots,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios.

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Here is a list of the pilots, some of which have been announced on Deadline:

Alpha House
Alpha House was written by Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer-Prize winner Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury, Tanner ’88). Alpha House follows four senators who live together in a rented house in Washington DC.

Browsers
Written by 12-time Emmy-winning comedy writer David Javerbaum (The Daily Show) and to be directed by Don Scardino (30 Rock), Browsers is a musical comedy set in contemporary Manhattan that follows four young people as they start their first jobs at a news website.

Dark Minions
Written by Big Bang Theory co-stars Kevin Sussman and John Ross Bowie, Dark Minions is an animated workplace series about two slackers just trying to make a paycheck working an intergalactic warship. The pilot will be produced by Principato-Young (Reno 911).

The Onion Presents: The News
The Onion Presents: The News is a smart, fast-paced scripted comedy set behind the scenes of The Onion News Network that shows just how far journalists will go to stay at the top of their game. The Onion Presents: The News is from The Onion’s Will Graham & Dan Mirk (The Onion News Network, The Onion Sportsdome).

Supanatural
Supanatural is an animated comedy series about two outspoken divas who are humanity’s last line of defense against the supernatural, when they’re not working at the mall. The series, written by Lily Sparks, Price Peterson and Ryan Sandoval, will be produced by Underground, Jason Micallef (Butter) and Kristen Schaal (The Daily Show).

Those Who Can’t
Written by Andrew Orvedahl, Adam Cayton-Holland and Benjamin Roy (Grawlix), who were discovered through Amazon Studios online open door process, Those Who Can’t is a comedy about three juvenile, misfit teachers who are just as immature, if not more so, than the students they teach.

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