Amazon to produce original animated shows?

Here's some news I never would have expected to hear: Amazon has decided to get into the business of producing original television shows.

Much like a traditional television network, Amazon has put out a crop of pilot episodes for viewers to sample. Unlike a traditional television network, Amazon is asking viewers to provide input directly. You vote; you decide. It's as cold-bloodedly Darwinian as it is fascinating. In the future, will all our entertainment be pre-determined by a series of Internet polls? I shudder at the thought.

Out of the 14 pilot episodes, eight are aimed at adults. And two of those are animated shows: Supanatural and Dark Minions.

Supanatural
When I first read the description for this show, I groaned. "These divas are humanity's last line of defense" sounds to me like a misogynist romp through female incompetence played for a laugh. Ha, ha. But reading further I learned that the series is produced by Jason Micallef of "Butter," and Kristen Schall of "everything awesome" (including Bob's Burgers, The Daily Show, and a guest spot on Archer).

The credentials are enough to get me to watch this episode later tonight, albeit with a lot of suspicion.

Dark Minions
This is an "animated workplace series about two slackers working on an intergalactic warship just trying to make a paycheck." So basically… Red Dwarf? Well OK, it doesn't sound like ground-breaking comedy, but you never know. There is a definite lack of sci-fi sitcoms in the world, so I would love for this to work.

However, I have some reservations about the fact that it was written by two co-stars from The Big Bang Theory: Kevin Sussman (Stuart Bloom, who plays the comic book shop owner) and John Ross Bowie (who plays Sheldon's nemesis, Barry Kripke). The Big Bang Theory has been described (aptly, in my opinion) as "nerd blackface." However, Sussman and Ross Bowie are hardly central characters on the show or figures in its production, so I hardly think they can be blamed for The Big Bang Theory's problematic aspects.

Image copyright Amazon.com