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[El_Presidente]

Been hearing really great things about Hand of God so will definitely be checking that out tonight or tomorrow! Love Ron Perlman in just about anything so I'm very excited.

Miiiight check out Hysteria too if I feel I have the time.

 

[Vert boil]

Piss poor line up this time.

Red Oaks: Aggravating cast of characters. It was fairly weird as what was shown on screen seemed to contradict the story/plot.

Hand of God: The only one I'd watch even though I thought the pilot and premise were poor. Ron Perlman being nuts was the only draw.
Not sure if it was deliberate act but they seemed to cast actors in roles they wouldn't normally get. Bubbles did a really poor job.

Hysteria: Super aggravating. I should have gone with my gut and turned it off. Feels like a shitty US tv remake of a shitty US film remake of a shitty japanese film.

Spoiler

shitty

The Cosmopolitans: Twats the tv show.
Gabrielle Anwar scale in full effect with the line about Sevigny's character.

Really: Annoying kids, annoying couples. Nope.

 

[sometimes i game]

This is why I hate these pilot programs. Shows need time to develop, judging them by pilots is the worst thing you can do. They need to be confident and make whole seasons without the people's votes. I don't think this is impressing anyone much anymore.

 

[Biochet]

Marking the television debut of renowned filmmaker Marc Forster (World War Z)

ewww

well he directed good movies in the past so there is hope

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Everything I tried was disappointing.

The Cosmopolitans most of all, just like Stillman's last movie. Good dialogue as usual, but he's gone from flat characters (which isn't necessarily bad) to empty ones.

 

[teruterubozu]

This is why I hate these pilot programs. Shows need time to develop, judging them by pilots is the worst thing you can do. They need to be confident and make whole seasons without the people's votes. I don't think this is impressing anyone much anymore.

Yeah the pilot thing was fun and novel at first, but Amazon Studios needs to get their shit together soon if they want a House of Cards or Orange is the New Black. They need to get an A-list director (David Fincher) and A-list actor (Kevin Spacey) and go with it. Too much fiddling around with B actors and experimental pilots. Bosch with Titus Welliver is the only show that has that mass-appeal potential, me thinks, but even that is a stretch.

 

[lunchtoast]

Oh man Sarah Chalke is in Really. I've been watching Scrubs lately. She's still got it.

I was listening to You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes and Jay Chandrasekhar was on there talking about the show. Super Troopers 2 is also in the works!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Hysteria: Feels like a shitty US tv remake of a shitty US film remake of a shitty japanese film.

Shiiiit!

 

[dubc35]

Watched the first half of Really, maybe should have given it the full show. I wanted to like it but didn't.

 

[ivysaur12]

Watched the first half of Really, maybe should have given it the full show. I wanted to like it but didn't Really.

FTFY.

Still angry about The Cosmopolitans. At least attempt to have a semblance of structure. gawd.

 

[xbhaskarx]

The Cosmopolitans

Written, directed and produced by Academy Award nominee Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco), The Cosmopolitans follows a group of young American expatriates in contemporary Paris searching for love and friendship in a foreign city. The romantic comedy pilot stars Adam Brody as “Jimmy,” Chloë Sevigny as “Vicky,” Carrie MacLemore as “Aubrey,” Dree Hemingway as “Camille,” Freddy Åsblom as “Fritz,” Jordan Rountree as “Hal,” and Adriano Giannini as “Sandro.” The pilot was filmed on location in Paris.

I had no idea one of these pilots was by Whit Stillman... I will definitely check it out.


Slate
Whit Stillman’s New TV Show Is Almost As Good As His Old Movies
And Amazon can really do comedy. Drama, on the other hand …
By Willa Paskin

Edit:

Everything I tried was disappointing.

The Cosmopolitans most of all, just like Stillman's last movie. Good dialogue as usual, but he's gone from flat characters (which isn't necessarily bad) to empty ones.

Ugh, damn. His last movie was so bad I couldn't even finish it. I'll still give this a shot, though...

 

[katsubento]

Watched Red Oaks. Was pretty good. Watched half of Hand of God, but I fell asleep...

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club reviews the comedy pilots

 

[dbztrk]

Just checked out the three comedy pilots, and the quality is so much better this year.

I wouldn't mind all three getting picked up, but I'd order them:

1. Red Oaks. Adventureland, the series. Though, hard to sympathize with a protagonist that has everything he wants (but I want more!), any conflict that does arise explodes harmlessly like pop rocks.

2. Really. The second coming of Thirtysomething. What's with Jay's obsession with bj's?

3. The Cosmopolitans. Entourage meets the "Before..." films. If you enjoy Stillman's dry humor, you'll find the same brand here. Perhaps the best production values of the three, certainly the prettiest cast. But also the emptiest characters...

You summed up my views on Really and The Cosmopolitans. I really wanted to like the Cosmopolitans. I mean beautiful people in a beautiful locale. However, I found the characters to be dull and I could barely pay attention to what was going on. Also, I think there were too many characters introduced in the pilot episode.

I will check out Red Oaks. It sounds like it is the best out of the bunch.

 

[poppabk]

I thought Hand of God was pretty damn good, there is definitely some real potential, although the ending kind of sets either a fine line they will have to walk all series or a tipping point which means the show is one of two different types of show and we have no idea of which.
I enjoyed the Red Oaks first episode, they didn't lay on the 80's nostalgia too thick, and it had some fun quirky characters - the tennis pro was what made the show for me personally. I do worry that it will become too preachy as it will be hard to maintain the 80's teen sex romp vibe throughout a whole season without some sort of plot.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Only watched two so far. Red Oaks and Really are both funny and good.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

One month in:

Hand of God: 3,036 (2,173 *****, 415 ****, 133 ***, 101 **, 214 *)
Really: 2,015 (1,133 *****, 326 ****, 134 ***, 154 **, 268 *)
Red Oaks: 1,680 (1,133 *****, 288 ****, 123 ***, 63 **, 73 *)
The Cosmopolitans: 1,492 (668 *****, 191 ****, 136 ***, 202 **, 295 *)
Hysteria: 1,390 (696 *****, 249 ****, 163 ***, 131 **, 151 *)

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline: ‘Hand Of God’ To Go To Series, Two Others Likely As Amazon Studios Starts Making Series Pickup Decisions

It appears to be a decision day at Amazon Studios as options on the casts of the company’s third batch of pilots expire today. I’ve learned that the actors on Hand of God have been picked up, with the project fully expected to go to series. Two other pilots — David Gordon Green and Steven Soderbergh’s country club comedy Red Oaks, and Whit Stillman’s expat comedy The Cosmopolitans — are in serious contention. Both have a real shot at a pickup, with an order for Red Oaks considered likely. Not going forward are drama Hysteria and comedy Really. The five pilots debuted on Amazon on Aug. 28. As usual, Amazon is keeping mum and is expected to make a formal pickup announcements, possibly early next week.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I'll give Hand of God a chance.

 

[tskeeve]

As an avid traveler and soon-to-be expat, I really wanted to like The Cosmopolitans, but it was the single worst 30 minutes of television I've ever seen. Terrible dialogue, flat characters, completely lacking any worthwhile narrative tension. Yuck.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Surprised about Really not moving forward according to this report. I have to watch Hand, Cosmo, and Hysteria, just so I know what they were about.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- Deadline: ‘Hand Of God’ To Go To Series, Two Others Likely As Amazon Studios Starts Making Series Pickup Decisions

Hand of God moving forward.

Red Oaks and The Cosmopolitans likely to be picked up.

Hysteria and Really both dead.

Given the critical reception that each show has garnered, I can't say I'm surprised at most of those. Really was the second most watched of the batch though and had a decently positive reception, so it is a little surprising that they're not moving forward with it.

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline: Amazon Picks Up ‘Hand Of God’ & ‘Red Oaks’ To Series, Orders More Scripts Of ‘The Cosmopolitans’

Amazon has given official series orders to drama Hand of God written by Ben Watkins and directed by Marc Forster as well as Steven Soderbergh’s coming-of-age comedy, Red Oaks. Additionally, the company is keeping Whit Stillman’s comedy The Cosmopolitans in contention with an order of additional scripts. The three were part of a Amazon’s third pilot season, with five pilots made available on Aug. 28. Feedback from viewers again played a factor in Amazon’s pickup decisions, which the studio started making earlier this week. The remaining two pilots from Season 2, Hysteria and Really, are not going forward. The second pilot season resulted in six series, Transparent, which just premiered, Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch and The After. Here are details about Hand of God and Red Oaks.