''Alpha House'' is an American

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where su ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air ae ...

series produced by

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed t ...

. The show starred

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, a ...

Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989� ...

, Matt Malloy, and

Mark Consuelos Mark Andrew Consuelos (; born March 30, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mateo Santos on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' (1995–2001; 2010) and as Hiram Lodge on The CW drama '' Riverdale'' (2017–2021 ...

as four Republican U.S. Senators who share a house in Washington, D.C. It was created by ''

Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title characte ...

'' creator

Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series ''Alpha House''. ...

. The show premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 19, 2013. The series is inspired by several real Democratic Senators who share a row house in Washington D.C. The series has a number of cameos from celebrities such as

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on '' The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Ni ...

(as Senator Vernon Smits) and politicians such as Chuck Schumer as himself. Amazon Studios offered the first three episodes of ''Alpha House'' for free, with each subsequent episode released weekly thereafter for

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one ...

members on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service p ...

. On February 11, 2014, the series was renewed for a second season. Production for the second season began filming in July 2014, and the entire second season became available on Amazon.com on October 24, 2014. The series was canceled after the second season.

Cast

Starring

as Gil John Biggs, a Republican U.S. Senator from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and former basketball coach of the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

. *

as Robert Bettencourt, a Republican U.S. Senator from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

who is currently eighth in seniority. * Matt Malloy as Louis Laffer, a Republican U.S. Senator from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

who owns the house where the four Senators live. *

as Andy Guzman, a Republican U.S. Senator from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

and candidate for president. * Yara Martinez as Adriana de Portago, Andy Guzman's girlfriend and Cuban-American heiress who runs a super PAC that assists Republican campaigns. *

Alicia Sable Alicia Sable is an American actress. She is known for playing Tammy Stackhouse in the Amazon television series ''Alpha House'' (2013–14), and Goldie Page in the film ''The Notorious Bettie Page'' (2005). Biography Sable was born in Giles Coun ...

as Tammy Stackhouse, a legislative assistant to Senator Biggs. * Julie White as Maddie Biggs, the demanding wife of Senator Biggs.

Recurring

as Senator Vernon Smits, the senators' fifth roommate who is arrested in the pilot episode for multiple scandals (3 episodes, 2013–14) *

Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the ...

as Shelby Mellman, a reporter from

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

(12 episodes, 2013–14) *

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both '' The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and '' The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

as Louise Laffer, the wife of Senator Laffer (14 episodes, 2013–14) * Wanda Sykes as Sen. Rosalyn DuPeche (D-IL), the senators' next-door neighbor and the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee (14 episodes, 2013–14) * Brooke Bloom as Julie Carrell, Senator Laffer's Chief of Staff (18 episodes, 2013–14) * Kobi Libii as Aaron Stimson, a legislative aide to Senator Bettencourt (7 episodes, 2013–14) * Ben Rameaka as James Whippy, Senator Laffer's social media aide (17 episodes, 2013–14) * Bjorn Dupaty as Hakeem Agabi, body man to Senator Biggs and one of his former players (5 episodes, 2013) * Willa Fitzgerald as Lola Laffer, Senator Laffer's daughter (12 episodes, 2013–14) *

Lila Newman Lila Newman (born in New York City, New York) is an American actress, writer, comedian, humorist, singer and musician. She is known for her work on ''Alpha House'' (2014) written by Garry Trudeau, playing opposite John Goodman and Julie White. Fr ...

as Charlotte "Cee" Biggs, Senator Gil John Biggs' daughter (6 episodes, 2014) *

Natalie Gold Natalie Gold is an American actress who has appeared in film, television, and stage productions, including on Broadway. She is best known for playing Rava Roy on the TV show ''Succession'' and Julia Harwell on the TV show ''Rubicon'', as well as ...

as Katherine Sims, Senator Guzman's chief of staff (15 episodes, 2013–14) * Sofiya Akilova as Marta Stjepanovi-Majdandzic, the Senators' Croatian housekeeper and mistress of Senator Guzman (7 episodes, 2013–14) * Tony Plana as Benito "Benny" López, Adriana's aide (6 episodes, 2013–14) * Richard Cox as Graydon Talbot, a spin doctor counseling Senator Guzman (9 episodes, 2013–14) * Owen Campbell as Dilly DeSantis, loosely based on the young data scientists that worked on the Barack Obama presidential campaign in 2012 (3 episodes, 2013–14) * Molly Kate Bernard as Angie Sullivan, a videographer working for the Republican Party Chair (4 episodes, 2013–14) * Lee Tergesen as Col. Eugene Drake, a gay army commander who intrigues Louis (3 episodes, 2014) * William Thomas Evans as Senator Lamar Farkus (R-DE) (9 episodes, 2013–14) *

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding S ...

as Sen. Carly Armiston (D-NY), the chair of the Senate Ethics Committee (6 episodes, 2013) *

Kenneth Tigar Kenneth Tigar (born September 24, 1942) is an American actor, primarily on American television, and translator. Life Kenneth Leslie Tigar was born into a Jewish family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in the Greater Boston Area. He receiv ...

as Sen. Paul Mower, (R-ID) (5 episodes, 2013–14) * Marylouise Burke as Sen. Betty Mower (R-ID), widow of Sen. Paul Mower (4 episodes, 2013–14) *

Janel Moloney Janel Moloney is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Moss on the television series '' The West Wing'', a role for which she received nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Ser ...

as Sen. Peg Stanchion (R-ND), Libertarian activist and member of the Tea Party (4 episodes, 2014) * Bianca Amato as Sen. Alice Graves (R-ME) (2 episodes, 2014) *

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared. Balab ...

as Sen. Elliot Robeson (D-CA) (2 episodes, 2014) * Lucy DeVito as Charity Robeson, daughter of Senator Robeson (4 episodes, 2014) * Anita Petry as Camila Perez, a Spanish Professor visiting from Barcelona (3 episodes, 2013) * Chance Kelly as Bo Carthage, the CEO of a private military contractor (2 episodes, 2013) * Matty Blake as Captain Brandon Carshaw, Ret. (2 episodes, 2013) * Wendy Makkena as Molly P. Andresun (2 episodes, 2014) * Tracy Howe as Colonel Wozniak (2 episodes, 2013) * Ted King as Al Hickok, a Tea Party activist running for Senator Laffer's seat during the primaries (2 episodes, 2013) *

Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured i ...

as a fictionalized version of himself, running as the Democratic candidate for Laffer's Senate seat (5 episodes, 2014) *

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

as a fictionalized version of himself, running as the Democratic candidate for Robert Bettencourt's Senate seat (2 episodes, 2014) *

Matthew Humphreys Matthew Humphreys (born January 22, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and co founder of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Acting for Film, Television, Voice-overs, & Commercials ''(FTVC)'' at Pace University. He is known for his work in '' Bar Karm ...

as Colonel Leland Grimmel, a war hero and former basketball player running as the Democratic candidate for Senator Biggs' Seat (4 episodes, 2014) * Todd Susman and Lee Wilkof as the Watt Brothers, wealthy casino owners and businessmen from Nevada funding Louis Laffer and Gil John Biggs (4 episodes, 2013–14) * Tamara Tunie as Eve Bettencourt, Robert Bettencourt's divorced wife (2 episodes, 2014)

Cameos

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 t ...

Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...

Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of '' Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarb ...

Mika Brzezinski Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski Scarborough (; pl, Brzezińska; born May 2, 1967) is an American talk show host, liberal political commentator, and author who currently co-hosts MSNBC's weekday morning broadcast show '' Morning Joe''. She was form ...

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American e ...

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

Dick Morris Richard Samuel Morris (born November 28, 1948) is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant. A friend and advisor to Bill Clinton during ...

Anthony Weiner Anthony David Weiner (; born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he consistently carried the district with at ...

Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and tax reduction advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the prima ...

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of ' ...

Chris Jansing Christine Ann Kapostasy-Jansing (born January 30, 1957) is an American television journalist. She anchors ''Chris Jansing Reports'' airing from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET weekdays on MSNBC, having replaced '' MTP Daily'' in May 2022. Ja ...

Matt Lauer Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...

Jane Pauley Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950) is an American television host, and author, active in news reporting since 1972. Pauley first became widely known as Barbara Walters's successor on the NBC morning show ''Today'', beginning at the a ...

Kelly Ripa Kelly Ripa (; born October 2, 1970) is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show '' Live! with Kelly and Ryan'' in various formats. As an actress, Ripa's best known roles i ...

Michael Strahan Michael T. Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television personality, journalist, and former professional football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Giants of the Natio ...

Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow (, ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. Maddow hosts '' The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special e ...

Jon Ralston Jonathan Mark Ralston (born July 13, 1959) is an American journalist, political commentator, and former talk show host. His show, ''Ralston Live'', was seen each weekday on the two Nevada PBS stations in Las Vegas and Reno until his show was dis ...

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a p ...

* John McCain * David Axelrod *

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...

Jake Tapper Jacob Paul Tapper (born March 12, 1969) is an American journalist, author, and cartoonist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show '' The Lead with Jake Tapper'', and co-hosts the Sunday morning public a ...

Andy Cohen Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer. Cohen is the host and executive producer of Bravo's late night talk show, '' Watch What Happens Live!'' He also has a pop culture ...

Episodes

Season 1 (2013–14)

Season 2 (2014)

On February 11, 2014, the series was renewed for a second season. Production for the second season began filming in July 2014, and the entire season premiered on Amazon.com on October 24, 2014.

Production

Filming took place on stages at

Kaufman Astoria Studios The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Broadway theater district. The p ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. ADR recording was done at

Cherry Beach Sound Cherry Beach Sound is a recording studio in the Port Lands of Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 33 Villiers Street. It is located in Toronto's growing film district and is also a successful audio post-production house; TV, radio, and film commercials an ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Broadcast

In Australia, where Prime Video was not yet available, the series premiered on

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

on July 14, 2014, and returned for season two on February 26, 2015.

Reception

Reaction to ''Alpha House'' has been generally positive.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gives season 1 an average rating of 68/100 based on reviews from 21 critics.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives season 1 a score of 76% based on reviews from 38 critics.

gives season 2 a score of 83% based on reviews from 6 critics.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''Alpha House''
on Amazon.com {{Amazon Video original series 2010s American political comedy television series 2010s American satirical television series 2010s American workplace comedy television series 2013 American television series debuts Amazon Prime Video original programming Television shows filmed in New York City Television shows set in Washington, D.C. Television series by Amazon Studios