James R | On 05, Nov 2015

Amazon’s autumn pilot season is here and it boasts a host of familiar faces, from 24’s Mary Lynn Rajskub and Christina Ricci to David Strathairn and Shaquille O’Neal.

The pilot episodes, which range from period biopic to a Shane Black Western, can be watched by anyone in the country for free, with viewers encouraged to provide feedback on the ones they want to see turned into full seasons for Amazon’s subscription streaming service, Amazon Prime Video.

Alongside the adult pilots are a range of kids’ pilots too, with episodes from such talents as William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg (The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore) Niki Yang (Adventure Time) and the Oscar-nominated Cartoon Saloon, the studio behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea.

The latest line-up arrives just as Amazon officially announces that Sneaky Pete, a pilot from August, has been commissioned for a full season – and caps off a year in which Amazon has notched up five Primetime Emmy wins.

Here’s the full rundown of what’s available to try right now…

Adults

Edge

Based on George G. Gilman’s best-selling book series of the same name, Edge: The Loner stars Max Martini (Pacific Rim) as Josiah ‘Edge’ Hedges, a Union officer turned cowboy, who prowls the post-Civil War American West doling out his own peculiar (and savage) brand of justice. It also stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) as Merritt Harknett, and Yvonne Strahovski (The Astronaut Wives Club, Chuck) as Beth.

The show was developed by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3) and Fred Dekker (Tales from the Crypt, Star Trek: Enterprise) with a teleplay by Dekker and Black. It is directed by Black and executive produced by Black, Dekker, Barry Josephson (Bones, Turn: Washington Spies), and David Greenblatt (Battle Los Angeles).

Good Girls Revolt

In 1969, while a cultural revolution with a soundtrack to match swept through the free world, there was still one place that refused to change with the times: newsrooms. Good Girls Revolt follows a group of young female researchers at “News of the Week,” who simply ask to be treated fairly.

The pilot stars Genevieve Angelson (Backstrom) as Patti, Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) as Jane, Erin Darke (We Need to Talk About Kevin) as Cindy, Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley) as Finn, Hunter Parrish (Weeds) as Doug, Jim Belushi (Show Me a Hero) as Wick McFadden, Joy Bryant (Parenthood) as Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Grace Gummer as Nora Ephron.

Highston

Highston Liggetts (newcomer Lewis Pullman) is a 19-year-old with a wide circle of celebrity friends… that only he can see. His parents, Jean (Mary Lynn Rajskub, 24), and Wilbur (Chris Parnell, Saturday Night Live) force him to get psychiatric help, but his Uncle Billy (Curtis Armstrong, American Dad!) thinks he’s just fine.

The pilot guest stars Shaquille O’Neal (Thunderstruck) and Flea (The Big Lewbowski) and is written by Oscar-nominee Bob Nelson (Nebraska), directed by Independent Spirit Award winners Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine), and executive produced by Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator), Todd Hoffman (Love Stinks), Nelson, and Todd Schulman (Bruno).

One Mississippi

A dark comedy, loosely inspired by Tig Notaro’s (Boyish Girl Interrupted) life, One Mississippi follows Tig as she deals with the complex reentry into her childhood hometown of Bay Saint Lucille, Mississippi, to deal with the unexpected death of her mother, the interminable life of the party, Caroline.

Reeling from her own recently declining health, Tig struggles to find her footing with the loss of the one person who actually understood her, with help from her older but not always wiser brother, Remy, played by Noah Harpster (Transparent), and her emotionally distant stepfather, Bill. A surprise visit from Tig’s girlfriend, Brooke, played by Casey Wilson (Gone Girl), only compounds the reality of how out of place Tig is in a world without her mother.

A co-production with FX Productions, One Mississippi is written and executive produced by Notaro and Diablo Cody (Juno), executive produced by Louis CK (Louie), Blair Breard (Louie), and Dave Becky (Everybody Hates Chris), with pilot directed and executive produced by Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said).

Patriot

This political thriller, written and directed by Steven Conrad (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Weather Man), follows intelligence officer John Tavner (Australian newcomer Michael Dorman). His latest assignment? Prevent Iran from going nuclear, requiring him to forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous non-official cover – that of a mid-level employee at a Midwestern industrial piping firm.

A bout with PTSD, the Federal government’s incompetence, and the intricacies of keeping a day job in the “front” industrial piping company, cause a barrage of ever-escalating fiascos that jeopardise Tavner’s mission.

Z

Z is a bio-series pilot based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the Southern Belle who becomes the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant Jazz Age in the 20s. Starring Christina Ricci as Zelda Sayre, Z starts before she meets the unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gavin Stenhouse, Allegiance), and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and their marriage—made in heaven, lived out in hell as the celebrity couple of their time.

Z is written by Dawn Prestwich (The Killing) and Nicole Yorkin (The Killing), directed by Tim Blake Nelson (Anesthesia), and executive produced by Pamela Koffler (Still Alice) and Christine Vachon (One Hour Photo) of Killer Films, as well as Ricci. The show also guest stars David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck) as Judge Anthony Dickerson Sayre.

Kids

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (for primary school-aged children)

When you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll probably ask for a glass of milk, and then who knows what he’ll ask for next? If You Give a Mouse a Cookie follows the adventures of Mouse, Oliver and other familiar friends as they discover that when you’ve got a curious Mouse for a friend (not to mention a Moose, a Pig, a Cat and a Dog), one thing always leads to another, then another, and then another. Based on the books by Laura Numeroff (Dennis the Menace) and Felicia Bond and written and developed by Emmy Award-winning writer Ken Scarborough (Arthur, Doug).

The Numberlys (for primary school-aged children)

Based on the award-winning book, The Numberlys are five best friends who discover something they’ve never seen before — a tiny sprout in their concrete and metal city. Though they don’t know what it is, they decide to protect this unique little thing against all obstacles. Created by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg of Oscar Award-winning Moonbot Studios (The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore), written by Emmy Award winner Joe Fallon (Arthur), and directed by Saul Blinkoff (Kronk’s New Groove), The Numberlys encourages children to think beyond the way things are always done and to imagine the way things could be in their world.

Danger & Eggs (for children ages 6-11)

Danger & Eggs follows the endless adventures of fearless D.D. Danger and her ever-cautious best friend, a giant, talking egg named Phillip. D.D., an energetic future stuntwoman, is always chasing her next big thrill. Lucky for her, Phillip is always there with jerry-rigged safety mechanisms to make her thrill-seeking dreams come true. Created by Mike Owens (Yo Gabba Gabba!) and Shadi Petosky (Mad), produced by Petosky and Chris Hardwick’s Puny Entertainment (Yo Gabba Gabba!), and featuring the voice talents of comedians Aidy Bryant and Eric Knobel (Saturday Night Live).

Eddie of the Realms Eternal (for children ages 6-11)

When lazy, unfocused wizard elf Hobi is faced with the return of the evil Shadow Queen to the Realms Eternal, he summons the greatest hero in all of the planes of reality, “Edward Armstrong”. Unexpectedly, Hobi gets a meek teen named Eddie who, much like him, has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. Together, Eddie and Hobi must work together to banish the Shadow Queen from the Realms for eternity. Eddie of the Realms Eternal is created by Emmy Award-winning writers Bill Motz and Bob Roth (The Penguins of Madagascar) and animated by Oscar-nominated studio Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea).

Everstar (for children ages 6-11)

When adventurous 12-year-old Ainslie Wickett accidentally intercepts an intergalactic SOS signal from a lighthouse in Maine, she and her best friend George are brought aboard a rogue spaceship called the Everstar. Created by Becky Tinker and executive produced by John Rogers (The Player, The Librarians) and Jennifer Court.

Yoyotoki HappyEars! (for children ages 6-11)

When Yoyotoki HappyEars and her fox family accidentally land on Mytholopia, they find themselves in a land where mythical creatures rule and magic is the norm. Although they try to keep their lives as normal as possible (and their jellybean pot pie business up and running), the unusual citizens of Mytholopia stir up their lives in extraordinary ways. Created by Niki Yang (Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors).

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