David Farnor | On 03, Aug 2015

Amazon has announced the release dates for its new original series, including The Man in the High Castle and Red Oaks, with a plan to debut a new show every month for the near future.

The VOD service has ramped up the pace on its original productions in the past year, winning Golden Globes, signing Woody Allen to make his first ever TV series and commissioning a wave of titles from its increasingly impressive pilot seasons. While The Man in the High Castle’s pilot has enjoyed a positive response, the retailer’s studio arm has also doubled down on its existing awards success, ordering not just a second season of Transparent, but a third to boot. Amazon was even on duty at Comic-Con this year, with trailers and panels for its big new shows.

Speaking at the winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Amazon has now confirmed its line-up of new releases for the autumn 2015 season.

Hand of God – 4th September

Hand of God will premiere on Friday 4th September. The Ron Perlman-starring drama follows Judge Pernell Harris, a hard-living, law-bending married man, who suffers a mental breakdown and goes on a vigilante quest to find the rapist who tore his family apart. With no real evidence to go on, Pernell begins to rely on visions he believes are being sent by God through Pernell’s ventilator-bound son.

Red Oaks – 9th October

Hand of God will be followed by Red Oaks, which will premiere on Friday 9th October.

The coming-of-age comedy is directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, Joe) and produced by Steven Soderbergh and stars Craig Roberts (Submarine) as a tennis coach in a 1980s country club.

“It’s a treat to see a leading role that showcases the Submarine star, a part that allows him to build on his neurotic presence with likeable depth,” we wrote in our Red Oaks pilot review.

The Man in the High Castle – 20th November

The Man in the High Castle, commissioned after becoming Amazon’s most-watched pilot to date, will premiere on Friday 20th November.

The show, produced by Ridley Scott, is based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning 1962 novel and poses a disturbing question: what would have happened if the Allied Powers lost WWII?

Set 20 years on, the show follows life in the USA, which is ruled by Japan (the Pacific half) and Germany (the Atlantic). It stars Alexa Davalos as Juliana, the wife of a factory worker in the West, and Rupert Evans as Joe, a young lad in the East with a dad who fought in the war. With Rufus Sewell as a Nazi officer with a taste for hunting down and torturing suspects, not to mention tense political alliances and an intriguing piece of secret video footage, the potential in front of the camera is as strong as the talent behind it.

Transparent Season 2 – 4th December

Transparent will then round off the year with Season 2 arriving on Friday 4th December.

The series has become Amazon’s flagship TV show, not only wowing critics and fans but becoming the first web series to win a Golden Globe for Best Series. In this year’s Emmys, Transparent has 11 nominations, making it the most nominated comedy series.

The show, created by Jill Soloway, stars Jeffrey Tambor as Maura, who has spent her life as Mort, the Pfefferman family patriarch. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone else’s secrets finally start to come out. (Read our interview with Soloway and Tambor here.)

 

With Mozart in the Jungle Season 2 arriving in January 2016, Amazon’s slate has filled up enough to not only impress audiences, but also to build up a strong head of steam: while rival Netflix aims to release new original content every three weeks, Amazon has now lined up a new original series to premiere every single month until the start of next year. With the Top Gear trio also on board for a new car show in 2016, the original content race is officially on.

Add to Watchlist