Reese Witherspoon In Brentwood

It’s a sad day in Zombieland-land: Franchise creator Rhett Reese — who co-wrote both the 2009 movie and the Amazon pilot

Amazon Studios is getting in the upfront spirit. As the broadcast and some cable networks are announcing their new series pickups this week, I hear Amazon too is deciding which of its pilots will go to series. I hear the company has started notifying the projects that are getting series orders. Details are sketchy but I hear among those getting or expected to get good news are Alpha House starring John Goodman and written by Garry Trudeau; Zombieland, based on the hit movie, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick; and Betas, produced by Michael London and written by Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard. I also hear positive things about The Onion Presents: The News, starring Jeffrey Tambor, from The Onion’s Will Graham & Dan Mirk. I’ll update with more as I hear. These would be the first original series orders for Amazon, coming out of the company’s inaugural slate of 14 pilots — eight comedies and six kids shows — that were made available online on April 19. At that time, Amazon said the series pickup decisions will be based on how many people watched each pilot, how many watched each pilot from start to finish, how many shared it on social media as well as feedback from an online panel and traditional offline focus groups.