Transparent Debut Smashes Prime Instant Video Records—Amazon Studios Orders Season Two

(NASDAQ:AMZN) — Amazon Original Series Transparent is already breaking records. In just over a week since its debut, the critically acclaimed dark comedy, created by Jill Soloway (Afternoon Delight, Six Feet Under) and starring Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Judith Light (Dallas), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls), Amy Landecker (Louie) and Jay Duplass (Togetherness), is the no. 1 ranked series on Prime Instant Video since the show’s launch. Also proving popular among critics, the new show clocked in a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes with a 98 percent critic rating, and a 91 metascore on Metacritic, making Transparent one of TV’s top three highest ranked, currently airing shows. Due to the overwhelming success of the show, and the incredibly positive viewer response, Amazon Studios has greenlit a second season of Transparent, to air in 2015.

Prime members are finding it very hard to step away from all ten episodes of Transparent. Since its debut, Transparent is the most binge-watched TV series on Prime Instant Video with nearly 80 percent of all viewers bingeing on two or more episodes of the series in the same day. This makes Transparent’s binge-factor higher than any of the other Prime Instant Video binge leaders in the past.

“We are absolutely thrilled that the response to Transparent has been so positive,” said Roy Price, Vice President of Amazon Studios. “Our goal is to create series that customers love, so it’s great to hear that Transparent has not only risen to the no. 1 series on Prime Instant Video, but that it’s deemed ‘binge worthy’ as well. Given all this great feedback, it only makes sense to bring the Pfeffermans back next year in season two.”

Since its launch, Transparent has become one of the top five most X-Ray’d series on Prime Instant Video. Gaby Hoffmann leads the charge as the most X-Ray’d Transparent actor, while other Transparent stars surfaced to the top ten most X-Ray’d actors on Prime Instant Video. Amazon X-Ray for Movies and TV is a feature within Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video that allows customers to instantly access all of IMDb’s knowledge, through a single tap, pulling up relevant actor or scene information as they watch. X-Ray is available exclusively on Fire tablets and Fire phone.

Written, directed and executive produced by Emmy-nominee and 2013 Sundance Best Director winner Soloway, Transparent is a 10-episode, half-hour novelistic series that explores family, identity, sex, and love. The series stars Tambor as Maura, who has spent her life as Mort—the Pfefferman family patriarch. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone’s secrets finally start to come out. This includes her ex-wife Shelly (played by Light), and their children—meandering Ali (played by Hoffmann), record producer Josh (played by Duplass), and sexually conflicted Sarah (played by Landecker). Each family member spins in a different direction as they begin to figure out who they are going to become.

Amazon Prime members can watch Transparent now via the Amazon Instant Video app for Amazon Fire TV, Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, as well as on hundreds of other connected devices such as smart TVs—or customers can visit Amazon.com/Transparent to watch online.

What Prime members are saying about Transparent:

• “…this is great TV and I believe that Transparent is the best thing I’ve seen so far for the 2014-15 TV Season. It will be hard to top.”
• “The best new television program in years—the writers of this show succeed on so many levels.”
• “I just binged watched all 10 episodes. Jeffrey Tambor is brilliant, and so is the series. I hope there will be another season!”
• “I thought the show was very well done—the writing, the acting, the music—everything. I completely enjoyed it, and watched all the episodes straight through in two days.”
• “Amazing show! It really shows the struggles that trans people go through daily. I’m so happy to see such an empowering show with such amazing actors and writing to go along with it.”
• “Jill Soloway has created a drama with dark comedy, heart and intrigue. Feels so real. I want to know what happens next!”
• “This show has heart, humor, edge and amazing work done by everyone. A leap into uncharted series waters that not only takes us into a unique experience, but also charts a path that entertains, engages, engrosses and enlightens.”

What critics are saying about Transparent:

• “Amazon’s Transparent is this year’s best new show, and everyone should watch it right now.” – Erin Whitney, The Huffington Post
• “After I saw the pilot, I called this the best show of the fall. It turns out it’s the best show of the year.” – James Poniewozik, TIME
• “Transparent is a drama/comedy series that could, in theory, make the Emmy nominations next year in either of those categories. It’s that good.” – David Bianculli, NPR
• “It’s the best new TV show debuting anywhere this fall, by a long stretch.” – Alan Sepinwall, Hitfix
• “Transparent’s transcendent empathy and wry, raw realism make most of this fall season’s new batch of network sitcoms seem even emptier than usual.” – Matt Roush, TV Guide
• “Gender is a construct, sexuality is a fluid spectrum, Judaism is a vast sea, and Transparent is a real joy. The new ten-episode series, from creator Jill Soloway, may end up being responsible for putting Amazon original content on the map.” – Margaret Lyons, New York Magazine
• “What Walter White did for Bryan Cranston, Maura Pfefferman should do for Tambor. And what Breaking Bad did for AMC, Transparent — which arrives in its 10-episode entirety Friday at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT — may just do for Amazon. Tambor and his show are that good, and that much better than anything else coming our way this fall.” – Robert Bianco, USA Today
• “So, yeah, as much as I like Orange Is the New Black, I love Transparent so much more. Transparent challenges me, shocks me, awes me, and makes me happy to be alive.” – Megan O’Keefe, Decider
• “Delicately dealing with the transgender issue, the show features a familiar device—dad’s changed life has ripple effects—but establishes its ensemble as one worth watching (or bingeing) over 10 episodes.” – Brian Lowry, Variety
• “All told, Transparent is a surprisingly poignant, funny and mature piece of work. We expect these kinds of top-tier gems to be manufactured at HBO, but probably shouldn’t be surprised that the creative leaps made from online streaming outlets could one day bridge that gap. That day is here.” – Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter
• “Centered on a career-redefining performance by Jeffrey Tambor as a retired professor finally allowing himself to live his true life as a woman, the half-hour, 10-episode series is, quite simply, astonishing to watch.” – Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
• “The characters are so multi-layered and their stories so thoroughly tied to each other that Transparent achieves a pleasing denseness, but one of its signal achievements is that it breathes. This is the kind of story that can be told by media companies who are unmoored from most traditional commercial constraints: They can make television that feels artisanal, specific and organic in all the best ways.” – Maureen Ryan, The Huffington Post
• “With Transparent, Soloway has created a distinctive family serio-comedy that she considers a five-hour movie broken up into 10 increments. Episodes might break your heart, but you’ll keep coming back for more. Take heed, Netflix: Two can play at the binge game.” – Diane Garrett, The Wrap
• “In quality, Transparent easily rivals anything on HBO, Netflix or network television. Its cast of indie all-stars, playing out tender, beautifully-shot scenes over nostalgic ‘70s tunes could be straight out of a film.” – Kate Sommers-Dawes, Mashable
• “Transparent is the best streaming-network pilot since Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black. – Hank Stuever, Washington Post

About Amazon Studios

Amazon Studios most recently debuted Jill Soloway’s dark comedy, Transparent,with all 10 episodes now available on Prime Instant Video. Transparent joins Amazon’s first two prime time series, Alpha House and Betas, and first three children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy-nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment. Amazon Studios has also announced five additional, original series including Chris Carter’s The After; Michael Connelly’s Bosch; Mozart in the Jungle from Paul Weitz, John J. Strauss, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman; kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; and Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street from David Anaxagoras, as well as a second season of Alpha House. Just last week, Amazon Studios concluded its third pilot season and has greenlit drama Hand of God, and comedy Red Oaks, to be made into full series next year.

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 Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public will also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.

Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon’s IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.

About Amazon

Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.