AMC renews The Walking Dead

A zombie from AMC's
The Walking Dead
series, which launched at
Hallowe'en 2010 on AMC
and FX UK

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The Walking Dead, shown in the UK on FX TV and based on the hit comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and drawn by British creator Charlie Adlard, has been renewed by US producer AMC after just two episodes.

Sold to 120 countries worldwide, the show has been a huge ratings success, with World Screen reporting that the debut episode of the zombie-themed series was the highest rated show in its time slot on pay TV in the UK. It was also the highest rated premiere for a new show on FX in five years.

FX UK notched up 659,000 viewers for the show, after adding up all of the airings by Sunday. Based on the pattern of previous series, distributor Fox International Channels expects the show to get to one million once delayed viewing is added in.

The multi-award winning book published by Image in the US has been brought to life by American production company AMC -- the US channel that gave us the Emmy award-winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

Produced by Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) and Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator), the  six-episode series The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Steve Yeun, Emma Bell, Chandler Riggs, Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus.

“In just a few months, FIC and AMC have demonstrated the effects of a truly global collaboration resulting in the biggest global launch in TV’s history,” said David Haslingden, the CEO and president of Fox International Channels. “The strong performance results and numbers we are seeing this week, demonstrate the strong appeal of this high quality drama, as well as, the tremendous marketing efforts of our teams worldwide.”

“The Walking Dead is Must-Subscribe-To-Pay-TV at its best,” added Hernan Lopez, the COO of Fox International Channels. “As our platforms around the world continue to seek exclusive first run series in order to drive subscriptions, we’re thrilled to bring them exactly that, on a massive global scale.”


• Charile Adlard's Official web site: www.charlieadlard.com

•  Newarama Interview: Charlie Adlard

• The Walking Dead Blog on FX UK  

• To watch an interview with the series' stars, visit this page on World Screen

Ridley Scott to produce The Man in the High Castle

Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is to executive produce a four-part adaptation of The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick for BBC1.

The script will be written by playwright and Spooks writer Howard Brenton, bringing Dick's Hugo-award winning story of an alternative timeline in which Axis forces defeated the Allies in the second world war to the small screen.

The Guardian reports the drama will be co-produced by Scott's independent production company Scott Free Films, makers of both Blade Runner and Gladiator.

The series is a co-production with Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd, the production arm of the Philip K Dick Estate. Headline Pictures was set up by Stewart Mackinnon and Mark Shivas to produce high-quality television drama and feature films for the international market and their development slate also includes Reykjavik, a feature film with Ridley Scott attached, based on the end of the Cold War, and official Peter Pan sequel Peter Pan In Scarlet, written for the screen by Oscar-nominee Jeffrey Caine.

"I've been a lifelong fan of Philip K Dick," said Scott. "He is the master of creating worlds which not only spark the imagination but offer deeper commentary on the human condition."

In a 1976 interview for Hour 25, Dick, who was a regular guest on the show, said he planned to write a sequel novel to The Man in the High Castle: "And so there's no real ending on it. I like to regard it as an open ending. It will segue into a sequel sometime."

Dick said that he had "started several times to write a sequel", but progressed little, because he was too disturbed by his original research for The Man in the High Castle and could not mentally bear "to go back and read about Nazis again."

• A Talk with Philip K. Dick (1976) - Hour 25 with Mike Hodel
Hour 25 hosted by Mike Hodel A Talk with Philip K. Dick 1976 Captured from (streaming media). Also available at www.philipkdick.com/media_audio.html

• Man in the High Castle Cover Gallery

Prisoner Comic Preview Released

An eight-page preview comic of the new US series of The Prisoner is available to download from US production company AMC's web site here.

The Marvel custom comic features art by Brazilian artist Amilcar Pinna, with colouring by Chris Sotomayor, whose credits include Captain Marvel and Fantastic Four.

The AMC page also offers several posters marking the launch of the new interpretation of the 1960s cult classic series which stars Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, The Thin Red Line) as "Number Six" and two-time Oscar Winner Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, The Da Vinci Code) as "Number Two."

In the new series a man, known as "Six", finds himself inexplicably trapped in "The Village" with no memory of how he arrived. As he explores his environment, he discovers that his fellow inhabitants are identified by number instead of name, have no memory of any prior existence, and are under constant surveillance. Not knowing whom to trust, Six is driven by the need to discover the truth behind The Village, the reason for his being there, and most importantly -- how he can escape.

No screening date for the series on co-producer ITV in the UK has been announced as yet.

First Look at new Prisoner Mini Series

Various websites, including Forces of Geek has posted a news story featuring a preview of the new ITV/AMC version of The Prisoner.

The footage offers an intriguing first look at the upcoming six-part mini-series remake of the original 1960s series, which followed a British former secret agent who is held prisoner in a mysterious seaside village where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job.

The new version features Sir Ian McKellen, James Caviezel, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lennie James, and Will Kemp and will air in November in the US.

• AMC The Prisoner Video Link