AMC‘s Upfront took place last night at New York’s 69th Regiment Armory, with a maze of rooms which featured interactive interpretations of all the big AMC shows such as The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, among others. We’re talking bloody freaks, drunk secretaries, and very tall men (Freakshow). “One of my clients at McCann said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me there were going to be zombies here?'” said Scott Collins, Executive VP, National Advertising Sales of AMC and WE TV, with a chuckle. “I said, ‘Because you wouldn’t have shown up!'” But on the serious side, Collins expressed a lot of excitement about AMC’s new slate, especially Low Winter Sun, which he described as “totally stylized, a perfect sandwich between Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. There will be no reason to change the channel.” Other programming highlights included:
Talking Bad, a special weekly, half-hour live after show, will analyze Breaking Bad‘s final eight episodes beginning Sunday, August 11 at 11p. The show will be produced by Michael Davies’ Embassy Row with Sony Pictures Television serving as the studio partner.
New spring and summer premieres were announced. Small Town Security returns for a second season on Thursday, May 9 at 10p, whileBreaking Bad kicks off its final eight episodes on Sunday, August 11 at 9p.
In addition, Showville (produced by Storyvision Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Television), a series about a small town talent show featuring local acts, debuts Thursday, May 23 at 9p. Low Winter Sun (co-production from Endemol Studios and AMC Studios), a contemporary story of murder, deception and corruption in a world where the line between cops and criminals is blurred, debuts Sunday, August 11 at 10p. Owner’s Manual (produced by Asylum Entertainment), which tests the most common divide among men who read the owner’s manual and those who don’t, debuts on Thursday, August 15 at 9p. The Pitch (produced by All3Media America), which focuses on creative advertising campaigns, debuts Thursday, August 15 at 10p.
Series renewals were announced for Talking Dead (a third season), Comic Book Men (a third season) and Freakshow (a second season).
The network also announced an overall deal with Rolin Jones (Boardwalk Empire, Smash, United States of Tara), where Jones will be writing and executive producing projects specifically for the network.
Read the full press release here.
