While things can be said about Amazon for their shady workforce practices, you can’t say that the company takes for granted the appreciation and accolades earned by Amazon Original series. Following last weekend’s surprising as hell pair of Golden Globe wins for Mozart in the Jungle and actor Gael Garcia Bernal, Amazon is dropping a sizeable discount for a yearly membership on potential subscribers, as well as offering up Morzart free for anyone to watch. When Amazon wins, everyone wins.
Starting today – Friday, January 15 –Amazon is offering a year of its Prime membership to new members for just $73, rather than the normal $99 charge. And honestly, even the full price is a bargain for those who shop on the website often and are interested in the growing lineup of scripted series. Current standouts like Transparent and The Man in the High Castle are nearly reason enough to take advantage of the price drop, not to mention the quality library of licensed shows and movies.
And even if you aren’t interested in signing up for a yearlong deal, at least you can test the Hollywood Foreign Press’ opinions by checking out not just Season 1 of Mozart in the Jungle, but also the recently released Season 2. The catch here is that it’s only available this weekend, and the complimentary viewing period will end on Sunday, January 17, at 11:59 p.m. So you have more than 48 hours to indulge on the entirety of the goings-on at the New York Symphony in the memoir adaptation created by Moonrise Kingdom writer Roman Coppola, actor Jason Schwartzman and About a Boy screenwriter Paul Weitz. The Golden Globe wins for Best Comedy or Musical, and that genre’s Best Actor, almost certainly guarantee the show will get picked up for Season 3, and probably soon.
This isn’t the first time that Amazon has turned its own successes into a bonus for the streaming public. After Transparent and Jeffrey Tambor took home the same Golden Globes last year, Amazon put up the entirety of the dramedy’s Season 1 for people to see what the fuss was all about. As well, when Tambor and show creator Jill Solloway took home trophies at last year’s Emmy Awards, Amazon Prime subscriptions were dropped to $67 for a limited period.
To be slightly snarky here, Amazon isn’t ever actually rewarding the fans and viewers that have already enjoyed the company’s services, but it’s merely trying to loop in more people. It’s hard to argue with that, though.
And this kind of money-saving behavior will likely come again in the future, as Amazon is getting ready to launch several more new shows in the coming months, and Bryan Cranston’s Sneaky Pete is also likely to garner some critical acclaim later this year. Until then, check out the deal to see if it’s up your alley.
