Amazon Gave Panelists Talking Points to Answer Questions About Hachette

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On Saturday, Amazon Studios, Amazon’s original video content production arm, will present its upcoming slate of original programming to the Television Critics Association. That line-up will include Bosch, an adaptation of Michael Connelly’s best-selling series of books about LAPD detective Harry Bosch, which happen to be published by Little, Brown and Company, which is part of Hachette, the media company involved in an ongoing and public dispute with Amazon. The dispute has most noticeably manifested itself in shipping delays for Hachette titles on Amazon, but it looks like the retailer is prepared for Bosch to be another reason for consumers and critics to be curious.

TIME received a copy of the talking points provided by Amazon to the Bosch panelists, with suggested answers for questions about the show as well as about the Hachette dispute. And it looks like any attendee hoping to ask such a question is likely to be disappointed: the creation of Bosch the series has nothing to do with the book’s publisher.

  • For a question about how the dispute has affected the series, the suggested answer is that there has been “zero disruption in Michael [Connelly’s] involvement in the series or our filming schedule.”
  • For a question about personal feelings about the dispute, the suggested answer is “I don’t know the particulars on that situation.”
  • For a question about why Michael Connelly, who is also a co-writer for the show, is not on the panel, the suggested answer is that “scheduling conflicts” are the reason for his absence. (Connelly is scheduled to be at a writer’s conference in New York City this weekend, TIME has confirmed.)
  • An Amazon spokesperson tells TIME that panelists scheduled to talk about Amazon series — not just the Hachette-adjacent one — were generally provided with such talking points, which is a fairly standard procedure and not surprising. Talking points are commonly designed to help with questions that the participants may not know the answers to; the sample questions are not about creative matters but about details like the way the budget for Amazon shows compares to the budget for shows on a platform like Netflix.

    Plus, the sample Q&A provided by Amazon is a suggestion, not a requirement, says the spokesperson. “We’re not trying to tell people what to say,” she said.

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    Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com