The story
It is 1962, and the Axis powers won the Second World War. Nazi Germany rules the East and Midwest of what was the United States, Imperial Japan holds the Pacific States, and a lawless Neutral Zone in the Rockies lies between. In San Francisco, Juliana Crain stumbles upon forbidden newsreels that hint at a different history, and is drawn into a dangerous web of resistance fighters, spies and officials of both empires.
Why it matters
Adapting Philip K. Dick's novel with Ridley Scott as an executive producer, the pilot became Amazon's most-watched since its original-series programme began, and Amazon went on to call it the service's most-streamed original series. It showed that an ambitious, big-budget genre drama could anchor a streaming service's slate.
Notable facts
- The pilot, released in January 2015, was Amazon's most-watched since its original-series development programme began. (source)
- Before Amazon, the novel had been lined up as a BBC One adaptation and later as a Syfy miniseries. (source)
- Amazon later declared it the service's most-streamed original series. (source)
- A season one advertising campaign that covered a New York subway car in Nazi and Imperial Japanese imagery was pulled after complaints. (source)