A NASCAR series starring Dennis Quaid, a new sports documentary series about the New Orleans Saints, a potential series based on Bannerman Novels and updates on Break point The TV series are all on the slate from AMC Global Media, in the company’s first presentation under its new brand name.
The company hosted its advance party in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood on Wednesday, bringing together advertisers, media buyers, distribution partners and many of the company’s stars in one room.
And she had programming news to share as well, including a further push into sports-adjacent programming with a scripted family drama series called Thunder Road Starring Dennis Quaid, it’s set in the world of NASCAR, and it’s a new spin on it It rises The docuseries focused on the New Orleans Saints.
AMC launched its first product It rises series about the San Francisco 49ers, earlier this year. The company also acquired the wrestling rights to TNA. Dan McDermott, chief content officer at AMC Global Media and president of AMC Studios, in an interview with Hollywood Reporter Before the introduction, she says the company will not be bidding for the NBA or NFL, but would still like to find a space to play in the sports genre, citing its efforts so far.
“They may seem a little disparate, but they’re all interconnected because they all serve the three main pillars of the AMC show, which are 1): a ‘lightning in a bottle’ character that you can put on a poster and everyone knows. This is Don Draper, this is Walter White, this is Eve Villanelle, this is Rick Grimes, this is Duncan Park. This is Tom Brady, this is Joe Montana, this is Jerry Rice. And in Thunder Road“That’s Dennis Quaid, who plays Dwayne Whitlock,” McDermott says.
The executive adds, “The second is that our shows take people, take the audience, into a unique world or subculture they’ve never seen before…And then the third pillar is that, yes, we want to be entertaining and entertaining, but we don’t want to be disposable entertainment. We want our shows to say something about the world we live in, and to have resonant themes and ideas and ideology that provide heft and importance to the shows. I think you can see that by going back to mad men“.
“Sports are a great unifier during times of great division. I don’t think the situation is any different now than it was in the 1960s, when… Sports Illustrated “Launched, or even before that, as when you go through a period of great conflict and division, and what we’re all experiencing right now, sports is a moment that brings everyone together,” adds Kim Kelleher, president and chief commercial officer of AMC Global Media. “And I feel like there’s a narrative to the sport, and it’s our entryway. Dan’s right, we’re not going to apply for the NFL rights, but we can tell the story behind the greats. I think we’re on to something very exciting here.”
Thunder Road It will debut next year, as will Ascension of the Saints.
Of course, AMC doesn’t shy away from its bread-and-butter scripted dramas, either. The company announced the development of a series based on Bannerman Spy novels by bestselling author John Maxim.
Director Shane Black (Lethal weapon, Kiss kiss bang bang, Iron Man 2) is attached to direct and executive produce with Craig Silverstein as creator and showrunner. The novels follow a charismatic former CIA spy named John Bannerman, who is reluctantly drawn into that world.
“It’s a crime story, but it’s character-centric, and it’s also funny and exciting,” McDermott says of the concept. “We know audiences love these kind of stories.”
He said that Break point The series could debut in 2027.
“We’re paying too fast Break point“We have a great script,” he says. “Hopefully we’ll be in production, let’s call it the end of this year, or the peak of next year in Australia, which is their summer.”
AMC changed its name from AMC Networks to AMC Global Media earlier this year, in recognition of the fact that linear TV channels are less central to its strategy, given its move to rely on niche broadcast offerings, and its willingness to sell programming to others.
The company is rolling out a new ad option based on a user’s first broadcast of the show, which is the first time they sit down and watch it.
“A premiere is the first time someone sits down to watch something,” says Evan Adelman, executive vice president of commercial sales and revenue operations at AMC Global Media. “User and viewer interest and engagement in the program is highest when they first start watching it.”
“From a viewer standpoint, we just want it to be seamless, we just want them to see the great shows that the studios are putting out and we’ve carried that for a number of years, and I feel like in today’s fragmented market, that’s the benefit we’re seeing now,” Kelleher adds. “I think marketers are becoming more sophisticated, and they want that first broadcast, but they want it everywhere. So they don’t just want it in a linear environment or a digital-only environment or a CTV-only environment, like they want that first broadcast everywhere. How do I actually have that first broadcast?”
The company also had some other news to share, including the launch of the AMC+ app for the Meta Quest headset, and an expanded partnership with Las Vegas-based Sphere (which shares co-ownership with the Dolan family’s AMC). The Sphere partnership will once again see the AMC brand (and partner brand) appear on the outside of Sphere around Halloween, and this year around the holidays as well.
The company is also planning an event in June at New York’s Beacon Theater called The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, which will include a live performance by actor Sam Reid as Lestat, and a screening of the first episode.
“I think this audience is more passionate than any audience we have across the group,” says Kim Granito, chief marketing officer, AMC Global Media. “So this whole campaign, especially the Beacon event, is about giving back to the fans. We’re doing it for them.”
