Amazon unveils shows for Japan

Amazon original Transparent

Amazon has revealed the first original shows for its Prime Video service in Japan as it ramps up its battle against Netflix in the country.

The US retail giant launched its SVoD service in the Asian territory last month with original US programmes including Transparent. It also said it would reveal its Japanese originals in due course.

According to Bloomberg, the new programmes for Japan include superhero drama Ultraman Orb, documentary Invisible Tokyo and comedy Work in Space. Amazon plans to bring around 20 original shows to Japan in total.

Amazon’s move into Japan coincided with the local launch of streaming rival Netflix, which made its entry after partnering with mobile provider SoftBank Corp last year.

Earlier this month, Amazon launched Video Direct, an online service that will enable producers and rights owners to offer their content direct to consumers. It also signed a deal to show new TV series Preacher in the UK, Austria, Germany and Japan.

Amazon recently announced its latest line-up of original pilots, including six kids’ shows. All the pilots will premiere on June 17 on Amazon Video in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Japan. Subscribers can then offer feedback to help the e-retailer choose which pilots move forward as full series.

The slate consists of The Interestings, a coproduction with TriStar Television that follows a group of artistic teenagers who meet at summer camp in 1974. The show is adapted from Meg Wolitzer’s New York Times best seller.

The Last Tycoon, also a TriStar coproduction, is an adaptation of Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last work, which gives an insight into Hollywood in the 1930s.

Amazon’s kids’ pilots slate is made up of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Little Big Awesome, Morris and the Cow, Toasty Tales, The Curious Kitty and Friends and Jazz Duck.