Amazon Prime Instant Video Announces Premiere of Wanna-be Entrepreneur Original Comedy 'Betas'

Amazon Prime Instant Video Announces Premiere of Wanna-be Entrepreneur Original Comedy 'Betas'

LONDON, March 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



Brand new series from Amazon Studios to premiere on Prime Instant Video in


the UK on 14th March



Technology start-up comedy Betas was commissioned following viewer feedback


from pilot released in April 2013



Prime members will be able to enjoy all 11 episodes for free through Prime


Instant Video alongside 15,000 popular movies and TV episodes



Prime Instant Video, the UK's largest subscription streaming service, has today
announced that the brand new original comedy series Betas will premiere on the movie and
TV streaming service in the UK on 14th March, 2014.



As part of Amazon's increasing investment in exclusive programming, Betas is an
entirely new series from Amazon Studios - the original film and TV production arm of
Amazon.com - and follows its first original series, the critically acclaimed political
satire Alpha House, which premiered on Prime Instant Video in the UK in February.



Both shows were greenlit for full season production following viewer feedback on pilot
episodes, which premiered in the UK and US in April 2013.



All 11 episodes of the first season - full of apps, coding and debauchery - will be
available for Amazon Prime members to stream through the new Prime Instant Video service
in the UK at once and in full high-definition from 14th March 2014.



"Betas was an incredibly popular pilot when it was released in the UK last April and
the show has already gone on to be a huge hit in the US. It's punchy, funny and captures
the fast-moving world of tech-startups in a comical and entertaining way" said Helen
Cowley, Head of Programming at Amazon Instant Video, UK. "The humour is very similar to
The Inbetweeners and Big Bang Theory... but at the same time in a class of its own. Fans
of great comedy should definitely take a look. We think they'll love it."



Starring Golden Globe-nominee Ed Begley Jr
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000893/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ] (Arrested Development, St. Elsewhere),
Joe Dinicol [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0227710/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ], Karan Soni
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4175221/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ], Jon Daly
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1789985/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ] and Charlie Saxton
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1470683/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ], the series follows four wanna-be
entrepreneurs in the land of Silicon Valley start-ups as they develop their new dating and
social app "BRB", whilst desperately trying to win over investors and spread the word
about the app they think will change the face of social media.



Written by Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard, Betas sees Michael Lehmann
[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0499724/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ] direct and produce the show along with
Executive Producers and Emmy Award winners Alan Freedland and Alan Cohen, and Academy
Award nominee Michael London [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0518757/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ].



Following its earlier launch in the US, Betas has been met with a very positive
reception by critics, with the New York Times saying it is "...clever, sharply
observed..." and Variety calling the first season "a pretty impressive debut".



For more information about Amazon Prime, visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/prime. For
more information about Prime Instant Video, visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/primevideo.



-Notes to Editors-



About Amazon Studios



Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic
series-one that's open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone
can upload a script and will then be notified within 45 days if that script is optioned.
Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions and those who choose to make their
projects public will also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.



Most recently, Amazon Studios debuted its first two comedy series, Alpha House and
Betas. The company will release its first three kids series, Annebots, Creative Galaxy and
Tumbleaf this year.



In addition, eleven new pilots are currently available to watch, rate and review,
including kids' pilots-Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street, Grid Smasher, The Maker
Shack Agency and Wishenpoof!, and adult comedy and drama pilots-The After, Bosch, Mozart
in the Jungle, The Rebels and Transparent. These pilots are available exclusively on
Amazon Instant Video.



Since launch, more than 18,000 movie scripts and 4,000 series projects have been
submitted to Amazon Studios. Amazon Studios continues to invite series creators to upload
their proposals for comedy and children's programming at
http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started/series
[http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstudios.amazon.com%2Fgetting-started%2Fseries&esheet=50769196&newsitemid=20131216005725&lan=en-US&anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fstudios.amazon.com%2Fgetting-started%2Fseries&index=8&md5=e6ca48e5dc46c90a6f0c7721957d35fe ]
or submit them privately via Amazon Studios.



Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is
available on Amazon's IMDb (http://www.imdb.com
[http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com&esheet=50769196&newsitemid=20131216005725&lan=en-US&anchor=www.imdb.com&index=9&md5=825cb8aa8df721a0bb83c2493c3ba071 ]
), the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and
celebrity content.



About Amazon.co.uk



Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998 and strives to be Earth's most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want
to buy online, and endeavours to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.



Amazon.co.uk and other sellers offer millions of new, refurbished and used items in
categories such as Baby, Books, Car & Motorbike, Clothing, DIY & Tools, DVD, Electronics &
Photo, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Jewellery, MP3, Music, Musical Instruments
& DJ, Office, PC, Pet Supplies, Shoes, Software, Sports & Leisure, Toys & Games, Video
Games and Watches.



Kindle Paperwhite is our most-advanced e-reader ever with 62% more pixels and 25%
increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting
conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest
generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and
faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD is our most-advanced tablet, with a stunning customised
high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end
laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual antennas/MIMO, enough storage for HD
content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine. The all-new Kindle Fire
features a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer
battery life.



Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud
infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which
developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.



Amazon.co.uk is a trading name for Amazon EU S.à.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.à.r.l
and Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online
retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington. Amazon and its
affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com,
http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp,
http://www.amazon.fr, http://www.amazon.ca, http://www.amazon.cn,
http://www.amazon.it, http://www.amazon.es and http://www.amazon.com.br. As
used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its
subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.



Forward-Looking Statements



This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others,
risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and
technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion,
outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality,
commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates,
system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud.
More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com [http://amazon.com
]'s financial results is included in Amazon.com [http://amazon.com ]'s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K
and subsequent filings.



Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud
infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which
developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Amazon.co.uk is a trading
name for Amazon EU S.a.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.a.r.l and Amazon Media EU S.a.r.l.
All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc
(NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington. Amazon and its affiliates operate websites,
including http://www.amazon.com, http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de
, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr, http://www.amazon.ca,
http://www.amazon.cn, http://www.amazon.it, and http://www.amazon.es. As used
herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its
subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.



"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Statements in this press release regarding Amazon.Co.UK Ltd's business which are not
historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties.
For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.




Amazon Prime Instant Video

CONTACT: For more information please contact the Amazon Prime Instant Video press office at Mischief PR on 0203 128 6600 or PrimeInstantVideo@mischiefpr.com


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