Online e-commerce giant Amazon will be rolling out a tech comedy entitled "Betas" in a bid to compete with Netfilix and Hulu in the race for original online programming. The first three episodes of the comedy will explore the lives of dating app entrepreneurs in the Bay Area and will be available for streaming beginning Friday, November 22.
Last week, Amazon released its first original program called "Alpha House." The show follows the politically incorrect adventures of four Republican senators living in a Washington, D.C., townhouse together
Amazon has made the move from distributing the shows to making its own programs, following the footsteps of rivals Netflix and Hulu. This year, online streaming firm Netflix was awarded three Emmys for "House of Cards," its first original series. Meanwhile, Hulu's most recent original programming entitled "The Wrong Mans" which was aired this month was co-produced by BBC.
Newcomers Joe Dinicol, Karan Soni and Charlie Saxtons star in Amazon's "Betas" which tackle the lives and ambitions of those living in Northern California's Bay Area. Dinicol told Reuters that tech entrepreneurs shape how humans interact. "And certainly the idea of our show is that they're not the best at interacting socially so it's sort of a perfect storm of an environment to have," he added.
Ford Ed Begley, Jr plays the role of George "Murch" Murchison in "Betas" as a playboy dot-com billionaire. Begley said that television has underserved the tech industry. This was what the producers of the series also realized early on. Michael London, one of "Betas" executive producers, told Reuters, "It seemed very obvious to us that the world's out there and no one's done a show about it. When a world is new - this culture has just exploded recently - there's a feeling that you can't do it right when it's shown up, it almost feels too topical."
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