Amazon announce their pilot-to-series commissions for 2014

I'm not sure why Amazon really bother with their annual pilots idea, where they produce 10 pilots (5 for adults, 5 for kids) and ask viewers to vote for the ones that will become full series orders. This year they released sci-fi mystery The After, family drama Transparent, cop show Bosch, comedy-drama Mozart in the Jungle, and sports sitcom The Rebels in the adults category. And after weeks of voting and social media campaigning (in certain quarters), Amazon today revealed they'll all become series... um, apart from Natalie Zea-starring The Rebels.

That's no surprise, as The Rebels was clearly the weakest of the adult pilots, and I'm not frustrated four "okay to good" shows are getting a chance at life... but, come on, was there ever any real point to this global voting? Amazon must have known they were going to commission these shows to begin with, so the voting was really just a formality and marketing ploy. It encourages people to watch, thinking they have a say in the big decision-making. Maybe the voting was only really there to see the response to the more unusual shows (Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle)?

Regardless, if you enjoyed 2014's Amazon pilots you're probably happy. Only fans of The Rebels (that tiny minority) have cause to be upset by Amazon's news, and Justified actress Natalie Zea (who wasn't half bad in a terrible pilot). Maybe Amazon will pilot something better for her in 2015...