Amazon announces new crop of fall pilots

In the wake of its five Emmy wins on Sunday, including lead actor and directing in a comedy for “Transparent,” Amazon has announced its fall pilot season -- set to debut in the months to come -- exclusively on Amazon Video, where viewers can watch the new pilots and give feedback that Amazon purportedly uses in deciding which of the shows to move forward with.

As for a creative strategy, it appears that Amazon is going all-in on adaptations and talent. Though that’s not a terrible way to go about television programming, it does occasionally leave your lineups looking a bit like a game of TV Mad Libs.

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Likely the most anticipated project is “One Mississippi”, a dark comedy, loosely based on comedian Tig Notaro’s life. The pilot follows an ailing Notaro as she returns to her Mississippi hometown after her mother’s death as she tries to acclimate to her new, old, environment. Notaro plays herself, with Casey Wilson (“Happy Endings”) playing Notaro’s girlfriend Brooke. Executive producers for the project include Notaro, Diablo Cody (“Juno”), Louis CK (“Louie”), and Nicole Holofcener (“Friends with Money”), among others, with Cody and Notaro penning the pilot episode and Holofcener directing.

“Z” is another new Amazon pilot based on a real person, a bio-series about Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, starring Christina Ricci (“Monster”) as Zelda herself. The pilot promises to detail the elaborate and turbulent love affair between Zelda and future husband F. Scott Fitzgerald, set in the heart of the Jazz Age, as well as Zelda’s eventual descent into alcoholism and mental illness. The pilot is written by the women responsible for AMC’s “The Killing,” Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin.

Not satisfied with tackling just the tempestuous history of the ‘20s, Amazon is also diving into the heart of the feminist revolution and examining the lives of some of the women who fought on the front lines. Set in 1969, the pilot looks at a group of women working in a newsroom who just want to be treated fairly. “Good Girls Revolt” is inspired by the book of the same name, which chronicled landmark sexual discrimination cases of the time. The pilot has a large cast, including Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”), Joy Bryant (“Parenthood”) and, apparently, Grace Gummer as Nora Ephron (which may or may not have been a phrase you were expecting to read today).

Amazon is also trying its hand at a Western, based on George G. Gilman’s best-selling book series “Edge”. The series has been described as “the most violent Western in print” and features a cowboy, Edge, played by Max Martini (“Pacific Rim”) prowling the West and doling out brutal justice. Also starring are Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”) and Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck”). Perhaps the most intriguing part of “Edge” is the fact that its developed by Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon”) who also co-wrote the teleplay and directs. Black has a light hand at finding humor where others would find only grimness.

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“Highston” is a straight comedy with a considerable comedy pedigree about a young man who has many celebrity friends. However, he’s the only one who can see them. The premise allows for many a celebrity cameo, with both Shaquille O’Neal and Flea appearing in the pilot. Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24”) star, along with newcomer Lewis Pullman. The pilot is executive-produced by Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat”), among others, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (“Little Miss Sunshine”) and written by Bob Nelson (“Nebraska”).

Rounding out the crop of fall pilots is “Patriot” a political thriller about an intelligence officer who needs to go undercover in an attempt to prevent Iran from going nuclear, but complications ensue. The pilot stars relative newcomer Michael Dorman, as well as Terry O’Quinn (“Lost”) and Kurtwood Smith (“That 70s Show”) and is written and directed by Steven Conrad (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”).

Amazon is still looking for its second breakout hit, like AMC found in “Breaking Bad” in the wake of “Mad Men.” It’s unclear whether it will come in this crop of pilots, but the vice president of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, is confident about his product. “Our latest pilot season brings together a diverse group of shows that we think customers will really enjoy. We have something for everyone in this season.”

Follow me on Twitter at @midwestspitfire.

libby.hill@latimes.com