 Frank Dillane in first look at AMC's 'The Walking Dead' companion show
Costarring Harry Potter actor Frank Dillane (Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
AMC GLOBAL ACQUIRES INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION RIGHTS TO “THE WALKING DEAD” COMPANION SERIES (TITLE TBD) FOR DAY-AND-DATE AIRING WORLDWIDE
AMC U.S. Announces Two-Season Order for New Series
NEW YORK, NY – 9 March 2015 – Coinciding with an AMC U.S. pickup of two seasons of “The Walking Dead” companion series (title TBD), AMC Global today announced it has acquired international television rights to the series, and plans to air each episode within 24 hours of its U.S. premiere. AMC Global, the international AMC-branded television network, launched in late 2014 and is available in over 115 countries and territories.
Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero and David Alpert from “The Walking Dead” are executive producers of the new series, which, like the original, is being produced by AMC Studios. Dave Erickson (“Marco Polo,” “Sons of Anarchy”), who co-created and co-wrote the pilot with Kirkman, is an executive producer and showrunner. The series will star Cliff Curtis (“Missing,” “Gang Related”), Kim Dickens (Gone Girl, “Sons of Anarchy”), Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and Alycia Debnam Carey (Into the Storm).
The new series will be set in Los Angeles and focused on new characters and storylines. The show’s first season will consist of six, one-hour episodes and premiere on AMC in late summer. The show’s second season will air in 2016.
“The AMC brand is quickly becoming synonymous with the most sought after and compelling content around the world,” said Bruce Tuchman, President of AMC and Sundance Channel Global. “We’re pleased to bring the series to a global audience within 24 hours of the U.S. premiere and ensure that ‘The Walking Dead’s’ worldwide community of fans can experience this new story together as it unfolds.”
Ed Carroll, COO of AMC Networks said: “With Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson at the helm, along with an amazing group of executive producers and cast, this new series will give ‘The Walking Dead’ fans what they’ve been asking for all along — a look at another part of the zombie apocalypse and one which takes us back to the very beginning of the plague.”
AMC Networks rebranded the MGM Channel as AMC in late 2014. The rebrand marked the first distribution outside of North America for AMC, one of the most popular and award-winning brands in television. AMC has since launched locally-versioned channel feeds on hundreds of cable and satellite platforms across Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Also accompanying these channels are authenticated AMC VOD, HD and “TV Everywhere” services.
In addition to premiering original programming from AMC Networks-owned studios, AMC Global also features popular, acclaimed films from some of the world’s biggest film libraries.
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AMC ANNOUNCES TWO-SEASON ORDER FOR A COMPANION SERIES TO “THE WALKING DEAD” (TITLE TBD)
New Series Will Air Day-and-Date on AMC Global
NEW YORK, NY – March 9, 2015 – AMC today announced that it has placed an initial two-season order for a companion series to “The Walking Dead,” the #1 show on television among adults 18-49 for going on three seasons.
The new series (title to be announced) will be set in Los Angeles and focused on new characters and storylines. The show’s first season will consist of six one-hour episodes and premiere on AMC in late summer. The show’s second season will air in 2016.
Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero and David Alpert from “The Walking Dead” are executive producers of the new series, which, like the original, is being produced by AMC Studios. Dave Erickson (“Marco Polo,” “Sons of Anarchy”), who co-created and co-wrote the pilot with Kirkman, is an executive producer and showrunner. The series will star Cliff Curtis (“Missing,” “Gang Related”), Kim Dickens (Gone Girl, “Sons of Anarchy”), Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and Alycia Debnam Carey (Into the Storm).
“We take incredibly seriously the notion of building a satisfying companion series to the number one show on television. From the beginning of ‘The Walking Dead’ on AMC, we’ve been asked questions about what was going on in other parts of the zombie apocalypse, and what it looked like as the world really did ‘turn.’ Through this new series, we’re going to find out,” said Charlie Collier, AMC president. “Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson and their writing team, along with an incomparable set of producers, cast and crew have created something remarkable and clearly distinct. We respectfully follow the request of Monty Python as we bring out (the latest of) our Dead.”
“We feel empowered by this two-season commitment, a serious show of faith from our network partner AMC,” Kirkman said. “I personally take it as a sign that they believe, like we do, that we’ve accomplished our goal of developing something original that can pay tribute to the original show and expand the world I created while at the same time having something new to say with this story. I’m very grateful that we now have the opportunity to tell this amazing story and show the fans that we really haven’t scratched the surface yet when it comes to ‘The Walking Dead.’”
“This vote of confidence from our partners at AMC is gratifying, to say the least,” Erickson said. “We’ve been blessed with amazing writers and a stellar cast – and we can’t wait to build this apocalyptic drama over the next two seasons and hopefully beyond.”
In addition, AMC Global, the international AMC-branded television network, announced it has acquired the international television rights to the series, which it plans to air within 24 hours of the U.S. premiere. AMC Global launched in late 2014 and is available in over 115 countries and territories throughout Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
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