9 Upcoming Original Amazon TV Shows You Should Be Excited About

6. Red Oaks

With the success of Transparent, it's hardly a surprise that Amazon would be looking for another hit comedy series, and the most likely is Red Oaks, a coming-of-age tale set in 1980s New Jersey. It will focus on David Myers - played by Craig Roberts, who has appeared in the likes of (Bad) Neighbours and 22 Jump Street - as a college student struggling to deal with his father's recent heart attack, and because it's a coming-of-age story having absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his life. His immediate future, however, sees him getting a job as a tennis assistant at the Red Oaks Country Club. Both the type of story and the 80s setting are well-worn, but that's because they both offer a great amount of material to work with, and when done right and with a lot of heart then you can produce something great. The producers of the show have spoken about not wanting to use the 80s as a gimmick, and instead trying to invoke the feeling of the likes of the John Hughes movies, which were comedic but also had a lot of heart and sincerity. It's one thing to attempt John Hughes and another to actually deliver it, but the approach they're taking does mean there's a lot of cause for optimism. Plus it actually features a star of those movies, Jennifer Grey, who was Ferris Bueller's sister when he was having his Day Off, and the Baby you don't put in the corner in Dirty Dancing.