AMC is adding two new scripted series to its slate of originals. The network has picked up their drama pilots Halt & Catch Fire and Turn to series, marking the first time that AMC has ordered two scripted series in the same cycle. These two new entries join a growing slate of drama series on the network which includes Hell On Wheels, Low Winter Sun, The Killing, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. Both Halt & Catch Fire and Turn have received 10 episode orders and will enter production later this year for 2014 premieres.
“The simultaneous greenlights today are the first in network history and underscore AMC’s growth and commitment to original scripted programming,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s Executive Vice-President of original programming, production and digital content. “Each of these projects takes the audience into a unique world through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be working with such exceptional talent on these series and can’t wait to bring them to viewers.”
Created by Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers, Halt & Catch Fire is set in the early 1980s and tells the story of the personal computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional partnerships are challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas’ Silicon Prairie. The drama series is produced by AMC Studios and stars Lee Pace (Lincoln), Scoot McNairy (Argo), Mackenzie Rio Davis (Smashed), Kerry Bishe (Argo), Toby Huss (Cowboys & Aliens) and David Wilson Barnes (The Bourne Legacy). The executive producers are Jonathan Lisco, Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein.
Based on the book ‘Washington’s Spies’ and developed fro television by Nikita scribe Craig Silverstein, Turn is set in the summer of 1778 and tells the story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence. The drama series is produced by AMC Studios and stars Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, King Kong, The Adventures of Tintin), Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises), Daniel Henshall (The Snowtown Murders), Seth Numrich (The Good Wife), Angus MacFadyen (Braveheart), JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger), Meegan Warner and Heather Lind (Boardwalk Empire). The executive producers are Craig Silverstein and Barry Josephson.
