On Wednesday, Amazon's Prime Instant Video selection officially grew with five series plucked from the platform's public "Pilots" preview program. Among the series launching exclusively on the Prime platform "later this year and in 2016" is the most ambitious series yet from Amazon Studios: The Man in the High Castle, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel.

The alternate-reality sci-fi series, based on the 1962 novel of the same name, imagines a version of the United States that must deal with the Third Reich having won World War II. While the series lacks star power (unless you count DJ "Road Trip" Qualls as a star), the pilot's production values and quality writing (led by longtime X-Files scribe Frank Spotnitz) put it over the top—and led to what Amazon has called "our most watched pilot ever."

That series joins a mini-documentary series The New Yorker Presents, dark middle-aged criminal comedy Mad Dogs, and two kids' shows as the latest Amazon Pilots pick-ups. (If you're counting, that left a few other potential series in the dust, including the Jason Lee-led comedy Cocked and Leslie Bibb-led comedy Salem Rogers.) Amazon also took the opportunity to announce the return of 2014 comedy Mozart in the Jungle; the company has already made it clear that award-winning series Transparent is returning for a second season, as well.

The Man in the High Castle has the added benefit of being an executive producer success for Ridley Scott, which he certainly needed. His last stab at a digital series, the Xbox-exclusive Halo Nightfall, was so stilted and cheap-looking, we didn't even bother reviewing it; in fact, we wonder if its low quality was part of the reason Microsoft's TV-series plans were axed last year.