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Amazon hopes John Goodman will make you buy stuff

Amazon takes a page out of Netflix's book.

If you find yourself dissatisfied with the offerings from regular television producers tonight — either the broadcast networks or cable and online — there’s a new out-of-the-box alternative:

Amazon.

Amazon announced it’s going to start offering its own original content. The first one is a half-hour comedy called “Alpha House.” It premieres November 15 to Amazon Prime members.

Meredith Blake, entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Times, says the format of television is changing rapidly and bigger and bigger stars are ponying up to make internet only content.

“I think the resistance, the snobbery if you want to call it that, is quickly fading. You’ve seen this with TV in general. Now it’s become cooler to be on TV than to be in the movies, and so I think that’s changing with these web outlets as well.”

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