A rival for Netflix? Amazon to produce five original TV shows for LoveFilm

First Netflix created its own on-demand drama series, now Amazon-owned LoveFilm is to make five shows selected from 14 would-be shows

John Goodman (second left) in 'Alpha House'

Amazon has announced that it will be making its first ever TV shows, with five new original series set to air later this year and in early 2014.

The shows have been selected from fourteen pilots that were aired on LoveFilm in April this year. Customers could watch the shows for free and were encouraged to give feedback to help Amazon select which shows to make.

The new series include Alpha House, a political comedy starring John Goodman; Betas, another comedy about four young entrepreneurs and their start-up; Annebots, a children’s show about a young scientist and her female helpers; Creative Galaxy, an animated kids’ show about an alien artist; and Tumbleaf, another series aimed at children following the adventures of a blue fox named Fig.

As well as customer feedback Amazon also used data that tracked how long people watched each show to decide which to make.

The series will be made by Amazon Studios, a subsidiary of Amazon created in 2010 that distributes content through Amazon Instant Video, the company’s digital streaming service. The studios currently have 24 movies in development.

The announcement increases the competition between Amazon and video-streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix. The latter already produces a handful of its own shows including House of Cards, a political drama starring Kevin Spacey that premiered in February this year.