AMC Networks made some major announcements today at TCA, unveiling spring premiere dates, first looks at the final season of Fear the Walking Dead and the new comedy Lucky Hank, and the development of John Maxim’s Bannerman spy books.
(Sergei Bachlakov/AMC)
AMC Networks Spring Premieres:
ACORN TV
- Dalgliesh Season 2 (Acorn TV Original) – New Season Premieres April 2023
- The new season is based on three more P.D. James novels – Death of an Expert Witness, A Certain Justice and The Murder Room — with Bertie Carvel (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell) reprising his role as the enigmatic chief investigator.
- Mrs. Sidhu Investigates (Acorn TV Original) – New Series Premieres May 2023
- Four-part mystery drama starring BAFTA-nominated Meera Syal (The Kumars at No. 42) as Mrs. Sidhu, a recently widowed, high-end caterer who solves murders and other crimes among the affluent residents of the English county of Berkshire. Using a lifetime as an ‘Indian Aunty’ to sharpen her skills as an investigator, she juggles her new catering business and her wayward son Tez (Gurjeet Singh, Ackley Bridge) and forms an unofficial partnership with world weary police office DCI Burton (Craig Parkinson, Line of Duty), much to the amusement of his official partner DS Mint (Naana Agyei-Ampadu, Death in Paradise). The series is created by Suk Pannu (The Kumars at No. 42, Goodness Gracious Me).
- Cannes Confidential (Acorn TV Original) – New Series Premieres Spring 2023
- A high-end crime series set in the Côte d’Azur, marking the first English-language procedural drama to be produced and set on the French riviera since the 1970s, revolves on the rapport between an idealistic underdog female cop (Lucie Lucas, Clem, Porto) and an ex-conman (Jamie Bamber, Battlestar Galactica). The pair are forced into an unlikely crime-fighting partnership which sees them solve a murder case in each close-ended episode, while the drama also focuses on the Lucie’s quest to find the criminals who framed her father, a local-hero police officer who was jailed for a crime he did not commit. Created by Chris Murray (Midsomer Murders).
ALLBLK:
- Double Cross Season 4 (ALLBLK Original Series) – New Season Premieres February, 16
- The events of last season have left the Cross siblings in a crisis! Once again, they pull each other up from the trenches to continue on their quest to eradicate child trafficking. And this time, they are taking it down from the top!
- Omega: Gift and Curse (ALLBLK Original Series) (ALLBLK / WE tv) – New Five-Part Docu-Series Premieres March 6
- Featuring singer-songwriter Omarion, this new docu-series goes beyond the veil of what it’s like to live under the celebrity microscope and gives fans an exclusive look on what it’s like to succeed, transition, rebuild, and evolve into your own man. The docu-series takes fans behind the scenes with exclusive never-before-seen interviews, rehearsals, tour footage and performances across the U.S. from one of the biggest Reunion Tours.
- Judge Me Not (ALLBLK Original Series) – New Series Premieres May 2023
- Loosely based on the life of the famed Judge Lynn Toler, Judge Me Not, tells the story of female attorney Zelma Jay Johnson who is as troubled as she is troubling. While navigating mental health issues, a rocky relationship, and a volatile family…Zelma surprises everyone when she wins a judicial seat at the ripe age of 31. However, once she achieves this goal, she must fight her inner demons whilst managing the chaos of the court system.
AMC & AMC+:
- Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches – New Episodes Premiere Sundays on AMC; stream early on Thursdays on AMC+
- Based on Rice’s best-selling trilogy, Lives of the Mayfair Witches, the 8-episode series focuses on an intuitive young neurosurgeon, Rowan (Alexandra Daddario), who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations. Showrunner Esta Spalding (Masters of Sex, On Becoming a God in Central Florida) and Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex, The Pacific, John Adams) are executive producers and writers. This second series in the expanding Anne Rice Immortal Universe, Mayfair Witches stars Daddario (The White Lotus), Jack Huston (Fargo, Manhunt), Tongayi Chirisa (Another Life, The Jim Gaffigan Show) and Harry Hamlin (Mad Men, L.A. Law).
- Lucky Hank (Formerly Straight Man) – New Series Premieres Sunday, March 19 on AMC+ and AMC
- Starring Emmy-nominated Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) and Mireille Enos (The Killing), Lucky Hank is an eight-episode mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College. Told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux, Jr. (Odenkirk), the unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt. Aaron Zelman (Silicon Valley, The Killing) and Paul Lieberstein (The Office, The Newsroom), who adapted the project from the novel Straight Man by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo, serve as co-showrunners. Zelman, Lieberstein, Odenkirk, Director Peter Farrelly (Green Book), Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire), Richard Russo, Naomi Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero(PEN15) are executive producers.
- Fear The Walking Dead Season 8 – New Season Premieres Sunday, May 14 on AMC+ and AMC
- The eighth season of Fear begins after the conclusion of Season 7, when Morgan’s (Lennie James) and Madison's (Kim Dickens) hopes to rescue Mo from PADRE did not go as planned. Now, Morgan, Madison and the others they brought to the island are living under PADRE's cynical rule. With our characters demoralized and dejected, the task of reigniting belief in a better world rests with the person Morgan and Madison set out to rescue in the first place — Morgan's daughter, Mo. Fear the Walking Dead stars James, Dickens, Colman Domingo, Danay Garcia, Austin Amelio, Christine Evangelista, Karen David, Jenna Elfman and Rubén Blades. It is executive produced by Gimple, Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, Michael Satrazemis and David Alpert and is produced by AMC Studios.
- The Walking Dead: Dead City – New Series Premieres June 2023
- A new series set in The Walking Dead Universe, starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Walking Dead: Dead City envisions the popular Maggie and Negan characters traveling into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror. Eli Jorné, who has been a writer and co-executive producer on The Walking Dead for multiple seasons serves as showrunner and executive producer on the series, which is overseen by Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead Universe. Cohan and Morgan also serve as executive producers, along with Brian Bockrath.
BBC AMERICA:
- Chasing the Rains (BBC AMERICA / AMC+) – New Nature Series Premieres April 22
- Narrated by award-winning actor Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton) this epic four-part series takes audiences on a journey into one of the most majestic, unspoiled and rarely filmed areas in Africa. Featuring an in-depth look at wildlife that struggle to survive through cycles of drought and dramatic rainfall, the series was filmed beyond the jagged peaks of Mount Kenya, in the great rangelands of the north, beginning at the end of the long rains, when river valleys, plains and mountains are flushed with new growth. Water is the life-blood of this sprawling landscape and all life here dances to the tune of the rains. Many months or sometimes years pass before a drop of rain falls so all species must learn to survive these droughts which are increasing in intensity due to climate change.
- Happy Valley Season 3 (BBC AMERICA / AMC+ / ACORN TV) – New Season Premieres May 2023
- The final installment in the multi-award winning and critically acclaimed series from Sally Wainwright, Happy Valley, is back. When Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir it sparks a chain of events that unwittingly leads her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). Her grandson, Ryan, is now sixteen and still living with Catherine, but he has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father. Still battling the seemingly never-ending problem of drugs in the valley and those who supply them, Catherine is on the cusp of retirement.
HIDIVE:
- Oshi no Ko (HIDIVE Exclusive) – New Series Premieres April 2023
- Set in the cutthroat world of showbiz, Oshi no Ko is adapted from the award-winning seinen manga written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. When pregnant young starlet Ai Hoshino appears at Dr. Gorou Amemiya’s clinic, he takes it upon himself to safely (and secretly) deliver her child so Ai can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But on the eve of her delivery, Gorou is slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and is subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? Directed by Daisuke Hiramaki with animation by production studio Doga Kobo.
IFC:
- Hullraisers (IFC / SUNDANCE NOW) – New Series Premieres April 2023
- British sitcom adapted from the Israeli sitcom Little Mom, Hullraisers follows the lives of three working-class women living in the Yorkshire city of Hull, self-described actress and chaotic mother Toni, her down-to-earth older sister Paula and best friend, policewoman Rana, as they navigate their daily lives, their chances at romance, and their dreams for the future.
- SisterS (IFC / SUNDANCE NOW) – New Series Premieres May 2023
- SisterS is a dark comedy-drama about two women, born continents apart, in Canada and in Ireland, who discover they are half-sisters and embark on a road trip to find their alcoholic father. Created by, written by, and starring real-life best friends Emmy Award-nominee Sarah Goldberg (Barry) and Susan Stanley (Hotel Amenities).
SHUDDER:
- Slasher: Ripper (SHUDDER / AMC+) – New Series Premieres Thursday, April 6
- Slasher: Ripper takes the Slasher franchise back in time to the late 19th century and stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as Basil Garvey, a charismatic tycoon whose success is only rivaled by his ruthlessness, as he oversees a city on the cusp of a new century, and a social upheaval that will see its streets run red with blood. There’s a killer stalking the mean streets, but instead of targeting the poor and downtrodden like Jack the Ripper, The Widow is meting out justice against the rich and powerful. The only person standing in the way of this killer is the newly promoted detective, Kenneth Rijkers, whose ironclad belief in justice may wind up being yet another victim of The Widow.
- From Black (SHUDDER / AMC+) – New Film Premieres Thursday, April 13
- A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again? Starring Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), Jennifer Lafleur (Nope) and John Ales (Euphoria). Directed by Thomas Marchese who also serves as writer with Jessub Flower.
SUNDANCE NOW:
- Black Snow (Sundance Now Original) – New Series Premieres February 2023
- Part coming-of-age drama and part whodunit, the six-part series follows the mystery of a small-town murder that rocked North Queensland’s Australian South Sea Islander community. In 1995, seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the tight-knit community of Ashford and left the town devastated. The case was never solved, the killer never found. In 2020, the opening of a time capsule unearths a secret that puts cold-case detective James Cormack (Travis Fimmel, Vikings, Raised By Wolves) on the trail of the killer.
- Totally, Completely Fine (Sundance Now Original) – New Series Premieres April 2023
- Inspired by true events, Totally Completely Fine is a six-part dark comedy that explores the complexities of grief, the power of friendship and the ways in which sadness can unite people. It follows a 20-something Vivian Cunningham (Thomasin McKenzie, Life After Life, Jojo Rabbit), whose life is a mess. Last week she accidentally burnt down her brother’s vegan food truck with a bacon-flavored vape and this week she’s inherited her grandfather’s coastal clifftop shack and is tasked with helping people who come too close to the edge. Strangely enough, they’ve responded to her chaotic, nihilistic brand of psychology. Maybe, just maybe, in saving these people, she’ll slowly start to save herself. The series was created and is executive produced by Gretel Vella (The Great), who co-wrote the show with Keir Wilkins (Surviving Summer) and Emme Hoy (stage play The Tenant of Wildfell Hall).
- Clean Sweep (Sundance Now Original) – New Series Premieres Spring 2023
- Created by Gary Tieche (Preacher) and inspired by true events, this Irish thriller follows Shelly Mohan (Charlene McKenna, Bloodlands, Peaky Blinders), a housewife, mother of three, married to a Garda detective, who kills her former partner in crime when he threatens to expose her dark past. With her unsuspecting husband hunting for the killer, Shelly must cope with pressures of the tightening noose as well as continue caring for an ailing son, her unfaithful husband, and all usual burdens of motherhood.
WE TV:
- Life After Lockup (WE tv Original) – New Season Premieres Friday, February 24
- Life After Lockup follows nine former inmates and their significant others from the hit series Love After Lockup through their weird and wild journey to survive the real world. This season's parole restrictions, travel limitations, meddling exes, and shocking secrets all while juggling love, family, marriage and life on the outside. Will they stay together and stay out of prison?
- Grown & Gospel (WE tv Original) – New Series Premieres March 2023
- A docu-series about a group of successful millennial friends who are the offspring of Gospel legends based in the city of Detroit. These “kids” are now grown and ready to shake up all the norms of their Gospel roots. Each Gospel star has made their unique mark on the music scene, but they also each have very dark secrets and personal conflicts that may undermine their efforts to revolutionize the Gospel music industry.
- Brat Loves Judy (WE tv Original) – New Season Premieres April 2023
- This Season, Rap Legend, Da Brat, and wife, hair care mogul, Jesseca Dupart, navigate the trials and tribulations of welcoming a new child into their blended family. Maintaining their ever-expanding careers while attempting to merge empires, tackling family differences, and realigning with their faith.
The Walking Dead Universe News:
- Premiere timing for four series in The Walking Dead Universe were announced.
- Fear the Walking Dead will roll out in two six-episode parts, the first of which begins Sunday, May 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+ and return for its final six episodes later this year.
- New spin-off series The Walking Dead: Dead City, starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, will premiere in June.
- The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, led by Norman Reedus, will premiere later this year.
- The spin-off starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira as beloved TWD characters Rick Grimes and Michonne, will go into production this year and premiere in 2024.
- The network also released a first look at Fear the Walking Dead’s eighth and final season.
- In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Daryl (Reedus) washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan. The series stars Reedus, Clémence Poésy and Adam Nagaitisand is executive produced by Gimple, Showrunner David Zabel, Reedus, Greg Nicotero, Angela Kang, Brian Bockrath and Daniel Percival.
- Lincoln and Gurira reunite for a new spinoff series that will finally continue the journey of Rick Grimes and Michonne characters. This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they've ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead? Gimple serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Lincoln and Gurira.
Bannerman Spy Series Adaptation News:
- AMC has acquired the rights to the popular Bannerman spy book series written by bestselling author John Maxim.
- The novels are being developed as a potential television series by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Ironman), Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, Creepshow) and Brian Witten (Creepshow, Friday the 13th).
- Jeffrey Maxim is also attached as a consulting producer.
- The book series consists of five titles:
- Bannerman Solution synopsis: Paul Bannerman was once his nation’s deadliest weapon – a top covert operative heading up the most lethal group of contract agents and network specialists in all of Europe. Now Bannerman is a liability – an unpredictable loose cannon that could irreparably damage America’s shaky intelligence structure, if he chose to. So the decision has come down from the top: Bannerman and his people must be eliminated. Suddenly death is running in Westport, Connecticut – one in a nationwide network of secret “halfway towns” where the country’s most dangerous former agents have been “retired.” At war with powerful elements within his own government – a war not of his making – Bannerman has been lured here to this place of yard sales, mini-vans, commuter trains, and murder. The plan is for Bannerman and those he ran to die here, quietly. But Bannerman has other plans.
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