Just two years ago, Amazon entered the race of streaming original series with little hopes in reaching anywhere near the success of the ultimate online video competitor, Netflix. However, the future is looking brighter for the multi-faceted company. Adding original content to their streaming service was ambitious, yet their hopes in bandwagoning upon Netflix’s momentum has proven to work in their favor, ultimately leading to success.
“Transparent” was the initial series that demanded Amazon be taken seriously as a provider of quality original content. The show, created by UW Madison alum Jill Soloway, has impressively accumulated two Golden Globes and five Emmy Awards already, with the series just finishing its sophomore season. It has received high praise mainly from its progressive subject matter, being the first popular fictional television series to focus on the life of a transgender woman. Next came “The Man in the High Castle,” a high-concept series that set Amazon’s streaming record with most views in the site’s history to date. The show imagines what 1960’s America would be like if we lost the World War II and Hitler dominated the world.
Amazon has recently gotten the most attention from their two unexpected Golden Globes for “Mozart in the Jungle,” a little known series that explores the drama behind the curtain of the fictional New York Symphony. Amazon offered free viewing of the series for non-Amazon Prime members over the weekend to celebrate its success, as well as reduced the member price this month from $99 a year to $73. These strategic moves are proof that they have big plans for 2016. With more customers discovering the many benefits of Amazon Prime, as well as their multiple awards and honors as a noteworthy streaming service, it is apparent that delivery drones only skim the surface surrounding their revolutionary ideas for the future.
