James Frey Asks Fans to Watch 'The Kicks' on Amazon

Amagansett author and publisher James Frey (A Million Little Pieces, Bright Shiny Morning) reached out to friends and fans of his books on Thursday for help making him “the coolest dad on the block” by getting the pilot for his teen soccer show The Kicks picked up for a full season on Amazon’s streaming video service.

The Kicks book series, by former soccer star and Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan, tells the tale of 12-year-old soccer player Devin who moves from Connecticut, where she would have been named seventh-grade captain of her school soccer team, and has to start over in Los Angeles.

Frey explains:

“Four years ago, I got the idea for The Kicks while watching the last Women’s World Cup with my oldest daughter, then six. What I hoped would be a cool father/daughter thing became more than I could ever imagine. She loved the game, loved the players and everything they represented—and she especially loved Alex Morgan!

When the tournament ended, my daughter was eager for more—something that showed strong women succeeding, that portrayed positive female friendships, and that presented athletes who work hard and never give up as beautiful. I very much wanted that for her, as any parent would, yet shockingly there was nothing available that was age appropriate. I couldn’t find any books, let alone a television show. So, I created them in partnership with Alex.

We’ve now got four bestselling books, and we recently produced a TV pilot episode of The Kicks for Amazon. Alex even does a cameo at the end of the show! Needless to say, it’s awesome.”

Frey then shares a link to watch the show’s pilot episode and notes that Amazon Studios puts the programming power in the hands of viewers—only producing full seasons of shows viewers really enjoy, as the company did with shows like Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch and Transparent.

“That’s why I need all of you to watch the show, and if you dig it, Rate it and Review it,” Frey says. “If everyone on this email takes a half-hour and does that, we’ll get to make more episodes. Which will be good for kids and parents everywhere.”

The pilot can be viewed, rated and reviewed through July 25. You do not need to be a Prime member to watch.

Check out The Kicks here.