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In the past few years, we’ve watched Amazon Studios emerge at a major player in original content with critically-acclaimed shows like Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, Catastrophe, The Man In The High Castle, The New Yorker Presents and Mad Dogs. However, the streaming service’s biggest moment as a studio might be yet to come.

This morning, Amazon Studios presented a panel at the ATX Festival and revealed a little bit about where they are going next. Showrunners Ben Watkins (Hand of God), Graham Yost (Sneaky Pete), and Jonathan Shapiro (Goliath) were on hand to discuss how streaming has changed the way writers approach TV drama. The panel was moderated by Amazon’s Head of Drama Morgan Waddell. Here are some key takeaways from the panel.

Yes, Amazon Studios Exists To Help Amazon

So why does Amazon — the online retailer — want to be a film and TV studio? Is it for the love of entertainment or is it just a cheap money cash grab?

Sneaky Pete showrunner Graham Yost cracked a joke during the panel that his goal as a showrunner is to help viewers “decide to order a huge item from Amazon.”

However, one of the panel’s attendees asked Waddell directly why Amazon wants to be in the film and TV business. Here’s what Waddell had to say:

“The company got into the streaming business almost ten years ago. It was a natural thing for Amazon to do. People were already interacting with Amazon and providing them with movies and TV shows was a very natural thing. In doing research for what Amazon customers really wanted, they thought there was a lot of value in [streaming video] so we started the Prime service. And as we got into doing that, I think the company learned the same thing that companies like HBO, Showtime learned a long time ago: It’s great to have movies, it’s great to have other series, but to really stand out, to distinguish your brand, you’ve got to have original content…Yes, we’re certainly trying to entertain and attract customers and it’s worked out really well so far.

So, yeah, Transparent was funded by a cash money business model, but arguably, so were all your favorite shows.

TV Writing Is More Like Novel-Writing Than Ever Before

In the last five years, television has seen itself transform into almost an entirely new art form. Now, instead of being tasked with producing 22 hours of stand alone, episodic television, showrunners are responsible for dropping short, cohesive seasons that are designed to be binge-watched in order. So does this change how Amazon’s producers approach their material? Oh, yes.

Hand of God creator Ben Watkins explained that now “you can see the narrative all the way through.”

Goliath’s Jonathan Shapiro explained “It’s more like writing a novel…We’re sort of getting back to the old-time cliffhanger. [You have to] make it impossible for the audience to stop watching.”

Sneaky Pete’s Graham Yost ran shows like Justified and Boomtown and he’s also seen his role in the industry change. “I went from young punk to wily old veteran in about a minute!” Yost joked about the change in the TV writing landscape.

New Legal Drama 'Goliath' Might End Up Being Amazon's 'Making A Murderer'?

If you haven’t heard of Goliath, it’s okay. It’s actually the new name of Trial, the David E. Kelley/Jonathan Shapiro legal thriller that Amazon ordered for later this year. Unlike most other Amazon shows, which undergo a public pilot-screening process, Goliath was ordered immediately to series. The drama will star William Hurt and Billy Bob Thornton and will cover one case over an entire season.

Shapiro thinks the show will “shock” viewers. However, he admitted that show runners have a harder time than ever attracting viewers in the age of “Peak TV.” He told the crowd, “There are times when we wish one of the lawyers had a superpower..because you’re talking about trying to get attention in an incredibly crowded media market.”

Still, the series sounds like it could hit a trendy sweet spot. Serial, Making a Murderer, and The People vs. O.J.: American Crime Story all focused on just one major murder case to critical and commercial acclaim. Could Goliath be Amazon’s big foray into the world of crime?

The Difference Between Amazon's 'Sneaky Pete' And CBS's 'Sneaky Pete'

During the panel, Waddell revealed that the first season of Sneaky Pete just started production. We liked the pilot, which cast Giovanni Ribisi as a con artist who finds himself in over his head, masquerading as a long-lost member of a family of bail bondsmen. Sneaky Pete was originally envisioned as a CBS show and Yost explained how the series changed over at Netflix.

Yost said, “The big change that happened between the CBS version and [Amazon’s] version is [producer] Bryan Cranston now appears in the show.” Cranston’s involvement as a villain was an idea that Amazon had and it worked better with their filming model.

From a structural perspective, CBS wanted the show to cover a number of tiny cons over the course of a season — kind of like a con artist procedural. Amazon only orders 10-episode-long seasons and wants the show to revolve around one big con that Yost and his team of writers had to work backwards from.

Finally: Some Advice For Aspiring TV Writers

Towards the end of the panel, Waddell asked all three successful showrunners if they had any advice for aspiring TV writers in the crowd.

Watkins offered heartfelt encouragement: “You have to start,” Ben Watkins “The more specific you get, the more chance you have to have something come of it.” He then likened to running a show to being a Mad Max-style Road Warrior.

Shapiro chimed in with a strange metaphor of his own. “You also need the skills of running an Applebee’s,” he said. “In that, I don’t know if anyone grows up wanting to run an Applebee’s, but somebody has to do it.”

Finally, Yost said, “Just don’t.” Then he hilariously explained that every young up-and-comer is someone gunning to steal his job.