Making a political comedy? There is probably no better person to wield a pen on the subject than “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau. And indeed, he’s been tapped to pen “Alpha House,” one of six new projects Amazon Studios are ramping up, and they’ve landed a big name to join.
John Goodman will star in the show that will center on four senators living together in a rented Washington, D.C. house. Goodman will play a North Carolina senator and ex-venerated basketball coach whose supreme confidence is threatened when the Duke basketball coach runs against him. Writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Trudeau is most famous for penning the comic strip “Doonesbury” for more than four decades, but has also written for the screen on and off. “A Doonesbury Special” earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short while HBO miniseries “Tanner ‘88” and independent follow-up “Tanner on Tanner” match the political comedy theme that runs through all of his work.
The experimental Amazon Studios is currently undergoing its first pilot season. Their interactive model will let Amazon Prime subscribers view each pilot when it is completed, and user input will help to determine which pilots are picked up to series. It’s a huge step in an exciting paradigm shift, and all the more exciting with industry vets like Goodman embracing the new platform.
A trailblazer in this field, Netflix releases all 13 episodes of its own “House of Cards” starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright today. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, go check it out! [Deadline]
