Amazon Prime – The Cosmopolitans

I almost feel like Amazon pulled the trigger on it’s latest pilot season a tad early.  Like perhaps it’s trying to counter the bad press Amazon’s been getting lately in regards to strong-arming companies and it’s treatment of employees. 

Not that the shows feel rushed, but they kind of dropped out of thin air as if Amazon wanted to change the conversation abruptly. 

Anyway, today’s focus is on The Cosmopolitans. 

Out of all the current crop of Amazon pilots, The Cosmopolitans feels the most confident and is certainly the one that plays the least like a cliché pilot.  It looks polished has a self-assuredness that’s refreshing; it’s not trying to impress you, it’s just presenting some entertainment. 

The action centers on three American expats in Paris.  There’s Jimmy (Adam Brody) who insists he’s Parisian because he resides in Paris, his lovesick friend Hal (Jordan Rountree) and Aubrey (Carrie MacLemore) a relative newcomer, both to the group and to Paris who just got dumped.  Along for the ride are Sandro (Adriano Giannini) as their Italian friend and Fritz (Freddy Asblom) as the wealthy and connected Fritz. 

We spend the better part of a day with the expats.  At a café Sandro chides Hal and Jimmy about the perception of American men.  Reeling from her break up Aubrey goes to the same café, where the men comfort her.  From there they go off to a party that Friz is hosting. 

One would be hard pressed to come up with a show that’s whiter than The Cosmopolitans.  Maybe Mad Men?  The Cosmopolitans makes Girls look grounded and relatable.  It might as well be called (White) Privilege. 

Even beyond that The Cosmopolitans isn’t for everyone.  The humor is dry and slight.  The performances are solid and the writing is there.  The show look like you’d want a show set in Paris to look, beautiful and romantic. 

If The Cosmopolitans were being sold to advertisers I could see it being pitched as appealing to the wealthy upper strata of viewers.  But Amazon isn’t selling to advertisers and would that wealthy upper strata even use Amazon? 

So while it’s the most polished, I imagine The Cosmopolitans will also be the most divisive of the new pilots; either you dig it or you don’t.  If it does get picked up, I can’t really see myself sitting down and watching it.