AMC NETWORKS CONJURES A MAGICAL NEW YEAR WITH THE RETURN
OF AMC’S ANNE RICE’S MAYFAIR WITCHES, AMC PREMIERE OF SANCTUARY: A WITCH’S TALE, NEW ACORN TV MYSTERY THE GONE, BBC AMERICA’S
ALL-NEW LANDMARK NATURAL HISTORY SERIES PLANET EARTH: ASIA,
THE RETURN OF WE TV’S TOYA & REGINAE AND ALLBLK’S NEW POLITICAL THRILLER CONSPIRATORS THIS JANUARY
New York, NY – December 17, 2024 – AMC Networks rings in magic and mystery this January with an extensive lineup of programming across its suite of networks and streaming services, including a new season of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches and AMC’s premiere of Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale; Acorn TV’s new mystery series The Gone; BBC America’s new landmark natural history series exploring the planet’s largest continent Asia; the return of We TV’s hit series Toya & Reginae and ALLBLK’s new political thriller Conspirators. The New Year will also bring exciting film debuts, including IFC Films’ Skincare, starring Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect), comedic slasher Get Away, written by and starring Nick Frost (Black Cab, Shaun of the Dead), Shudder’s satirical body horror Grafted, starring Jess Hong (3 Body Problem) and wrestling-themed action-horror Dark Match, starring Sara Canning (Influencer, The Vampire Diaries) and Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Snowpiercer).
On AMC & AMC+ (also includes Shudder and Sundance Now):
- Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches Season 2 (AMC Original Series)
New Season Premieres Sunday, January 5 on AMC and AMC+ (9pm ET/PT on AMC)
Based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches, season two of Mayfair Witches continues the journey of Rowan Mayfair (Alexandra Daddario) after she has unwittingly given birth to the demon Lasher (Jack Huston). She is determined to understand what he has become – human or monster? – and to use him to fulfill her purpose as a healer, but when tragedy strikes, she must put aside her own desires and fight to protect her family. Also starring Harry Hamlin, Tongayi Chirisa and Alyssa Jirrels, Additional cast this season includes Ben Feldman, Ted Levine and Thora Birch, amongst others.
- Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale (Sundance Now Original Series)
Series Premiere Sunday, January 5 on AMC at 10pm ET With New Episodes Airing Weekly; All Episodes Available to Binge on AMC+, Acorn TV and Sundance Now
Written and created by Debbie Horsfield (Poldark) and adapted from the bestselling novel by V.V. James, Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale takes place in a contemporary world where witchcraft is real. Travel to the idyllic English town of Sanctuary, where for hundreds of years witches have lived peacefully as valued members of society…until now. Sarah Fenn (Elaine Cassidy) is Sanctuary’s resident witch, on whom the town relies to solve their problems when conventional remedies have failed. When local teen rugby star, Dan Whithall, dies tragically in an apparent accident, his death exposes a terrifying undercurrent of suspicion and fear towards Sarah and her teenage daughter, Harper (Hazel Doupe). The boy’s mother Abigail (Amy de Bhrun), once Sarah’s closest friend, is wracked with grief, and launches a modern-day witch-hunt to avenge her son’s death no matter what the cost.
- Also featured on AMC+ in January:
- Skincare
New Film Premieres Friday, January 3
Legendary facialist-to-the-stars Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games) is preparing to enter the next phase of her career by launching her own retail line of skincare products. However, she begins to sense that someone is trying to sabotage her business and destroy her life after she becomes entangled in a series of menacing situations. Consumed with paranoia, Hope goes on an investigation across Hollywood to find out who is responsible and save her business- by any means necessary.
- Memoir of a Snail
New Film Premieres Friday, January 17
From Academy Award-winning director Adam Elliot, this Golden Globe-nominated animated film follows Grace Pudel, a book-loving, snail-collecting misfit that falls into a series of misfortunes after being separated from her twin brother Gilbert. Despite her hardships, inspiration and hope arise when Grace begins a friendship with an eccentric elderly woman named Pinky. Features an all-star voice cast including Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook), Sarah Snook (Succession), Eric Bana (The Dry), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog), and more.
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- Featured Collection: Wicked: Stories of Magic and Mystery – Available All Month Long
This collection casts spells and conjures magic with witch-themed series and films including A Discovery of Witches, Domino Day: Lone Witch and Shudder Original Films Hellbender, Mandrake, and Moloch, among others.
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- Featured Collection: Sundance Film Festival – Available All Month Long
Celebrate the Sundance Film Festival with a collection of award-winning films and festival favorites including Ghostlight, Boyhood, In A Violent Nature, The Babadook, God’s Country, Sleeping with Other People, and Watcher, among others.
On BBC AMERICA (also available on AMC+):
- Planet Earth: Asia (BBC America Original Series)
Landmark Natural History Series Premieres Saturday, January 25 on BBC America and AMC+ (8pm ET/PT on BBC America)
Presented by renowned naturalist and three-time Emmy® Award-winner Sir David Attenborough (Mammals, Planet Earth III), the cinematic series explores each corner of this remarkable part of our planet and journeys through Asia’s most stunning landscapes, uncovering stories of extraordinary unseen animal behavior. Across 7 episodes plus a ‘Making Of’ special filmed over the course of nearly four years, this is the first time that Asia – home to the highest mountain range, the deepest ocean, the tallest jungles, and the biggest cave – has been the focus of a BBC landmark wildlife series. The series will also explore the conservation challenges facing the continent and shine a light on the potential solutions being championed by the region’s conservation heroes. From the vast Gobi Desert to the jungles of Borneo, and from the polar wilderness of Siberia to the coral seas of the Indian Ocean, this series will showcase the breathtaking diversity of Asia’s wildest places, with an all-new original score by Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Music Group.
- The Graham Norton Show Season 32
New Episodes Premiere Fridays on BBC America, AMC+ and Acorn TV (11pm ET/PT on BBC America)
The BAFTA-award-winning talk show is back with a new season featuring the biggest celebrities and the brightest conversation on television.
- Friday, January 3: New Year’s Eve special guest lineup includes: Robbie Williams, Rami Malek, Motsi Mabuse and John Bishop.
- Friday, January 17: Guest lineup includes: TBA
- Friday, January 24: TBA
- Friday, January 31: TBA
On ACORN TV:
- Darby & Joan Season 2 (Acorn TV Original Series)
New Episodes Every Monday Until Season Finale on January 27
A year after their lives collided on an outback road, retired Australian detective Jack Darby (Emmy-nominee Bryan Brown) and English widowed nurse Joan Kirkhope (Emmy-winner Greta Scacchi) have forged a deep friendship amid shared investigative adventures. But Jack’s story has only just begun – he’s determined to clear his name of the unexplained cloud hanging over his career. Despite the potential danger – or perhaps because of it – Joan insists on helping Jack with his quest. As they travel through Queensland’s picturesque landscapes solving mysteries along the way, Jack and Joan’s relationship will be tested. An escapist adventure where a new mystery awaits around every bend in the road, Darby and Joan ask: can you find yourself in the middle of nowhere?
- The Gone (Acorn TV Exclusive Series)
Two-Episode Premiere Monday, January 20; New Episodes Premiere Every Monday Until The Season Finale on February 17
Theo Richter (Richard Flood, Grey’s Anatomy) is an Irish detective who teams with Kiwi cop Diana Huia (Acushla-Tara Kupe, Under the Vines) to find a young Irish couple after they vanished from an infamous rural North Island New Zealand town. Amid the search and race against time, the pair must content with a community’s growing concern that the disappearances may be linked to a series of historical murders.
- The Catch (Acorn TV Exclusive Series)
Binge Premiere Monday, January 27
Gripping, psychological thriller from the bestselling book by T.M. Logan and adapted for the screen by Michael Crompton (Silent Witness). Ed Collier (Jason Watkins, Being Human) is a proud husband, father and local fisherman determined to do whatever it takes to keep his family together. When rich, handsome younger man, Ryan (Aneurin Barnard, Doctor Who) enters daughter, Abbie’s (Poppy Gilbert, Stay Close) life and threatens to take her away from him, Ed finds his life spiraling out of control and determines to discover the truth about Ryan before it’s too late. But when a dark secret from Ed’s past returns to haunt him, he risks losing everything he’s worked so hard to achieve.
*Full Acorn TV programming schedule for January available HERE
On SHUDDER (also available on AMC+):
- Get Away (Shudder Exclusive Film)
New Film Premieres Friday, January 10
The Smith family’s much-needed vacation to the remote Swedish island of Svalta takes a dark turn when they arrive during preparations for a mysterious local festival that celebrates a dark history. Unsettled by the unfriendly locals and strange rituals, they try to make the best of their trip, stubbornly enjoying the island’s isolation and natural beauty. However, as the festival looms closer, the family realizes something far more sinister is unfolding—especially when they discover that a serial killer is on the loose. Written by and starring Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz).
- Grafted (Shudder Original Film)
New Film Premieres Friday, January 24
Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends. Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.
- Dark Match (Shudder Original Film)
New Film Premieres Friday, January 31
Starring WWE superstar Chris Jericho and debuting on the heels of the 2024 Royal Rumble, the film centers on a small-time wrestling company as it accepts a well-paying but too good to be true gig in a backwoods town only to learn, too late, that the community is run by a mysterious cult leader… and their event is now a pay-per-view fight to the death. Also starring Sara Canning (Influencer, The Vampire Diaries), Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Snowpiercer) and Michael Ecklund (Antlers).
- Horror’s Greatest Season 2 (Shudder Original Series)
New Episodes Premiere Every Tuesday Until the Season Finale on January 28
A deep dive into everything we love about horror — from fresh looks at classics to unearthing scores of hidden gems, this series has something for every fright film enthusiast. A gallery of ghoulish pros, including actors, directors, writers, composers, and special effects artists, draw on their unique knowledge to answer the big questions: What are the must-see films in horror’s many sub-genres? What’s the appeal of horror tropes, and how do today’s filmmakers subvert our expectations? What shape does horror take in countries outside of the United States? The answers encompass the breath of the nightmares we watch for our entertainment.
*Full Shudder programming schedule for January available HERE
On HIDIVE:
- Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! (HIDIVE Exclusive)
Simulcast Premiere on Saturday, December 28
January offers the purr-fect show for fans of elves, ecchi and cats alike with the simulcast premiere of the new comedy series Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! on HIDIVE. Nobody asked to be a cat! After dying in a fight against the forces of evil, a knight is shocked to discover that instead of being reborn as a hero of humanity, he starts his new life as a behemoth-one of the most powerful monsters in the world! The only problem is that a baby behemoth looks an awful lot like…an adorable house cat?! Things grow even more confusing when a beautiful elf adventurer rescues him from the brink of death rather than finishing him off. This house-cat-slash-knight’s baffling journey is just getting started… Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! is directed by Tetsuo Hirakawa and written by Kanichi Kato with production by Zero G x Saber Works.
- I’m Living with an Otaku NEET Kunoichi!? (HIDIVE Exclusive)
Simulcast Premiere at the Start of January
Demons + Salaryman + Shinobi + Otaku + NEET equals I’m Living with an Otaku NEET Kunoichi!?, the perfect rom-com and new simulcast series premiering on HIDIVE this January. In order to protect an ordinary businessman, Tsukasa Atsumi, from demons, a genius kunoichi, Shizuri Ideura, signs a master-servant contract with him on the condition that she stays with him. Despite her cool appearance of defeating demons, Shizuri is an otaku NEET who spends all her time playing video games. While Shizuri is spoiled by Tsukasa and leads a lazy cohabitation life, the quirky Kunoichi gather together… I’m Living with an Otaku NEET Kunoichi!? is directed by Hisashi Saito and written by Takashi Aoshima with production by Quad.
- Flower and Asura (HIDIVE Exclusive)
Simulcast Premiere at the Start of January
The new year brings a heart-warming celebration of friendship to fans with the simulcast premiere of the slice of life drama series Flowers and Asura this January on HIDIVE. On the picturesque island of Tonakijima with a population of only 600, Hana’s favorite pastime is reading literature to the island’s children. Her narration skills are second to none, and Mizuki, the president of the school’s broadcasting club immediately recognizes Hana’s ability to engage with others and draw them into her recitations. Invited by Mizuki to join the club, Hana embarks on a journey to discover her true love of reading — and maybe even change the course of her life along the way. Flower and Asura is directed by Ayumu Uwano and written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu with production by Studio Bind.
- From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated! (HIDIVE Exclusive)
Simulcast Premiere at the Start of January
Fans will be transported to another world but this time into a video game when the new simulcast series and perhaps funniest isekai adventure of the year From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated! premieres in January on HIDIVE. After being struck by a car, 52-year-old civil servant Kenzaburou Tondabayashi finds himself reborn as the villainess of his daughter’s favorite video game! Now trapped in the role of the haughty and arrogant Grace Auvergne, Kenzaburou commits himself to playing out Grace’s role in the game’s story…only his kind nature and elegant Japanese manners accidentally turn the unlikeable Grace into the most admired girl in
On ALLBLK & WE TV:
- Conspirators (ALLBLK Original Series)
New Series Premieres on Thursday, January 2
From the creator of ALLBLK’s hit series Double Cross, Conspirators follows a group of friends seven years after high school working for a local politician, Hudson, running for mayor. After running into an old friend, “The Gang” must uncover the truth about his shooting and disappearance, uncovering the truth about Hudson in the process. These secrets may lead to Hudson dropping out of the race, and more than likely to his arrest; however, with only partial information on the flash drive, the group doesn’t know what to believe. They have to find out the truth and decide whether to help Hudson or take him down with all of his government counterparts in the biggest hack they’ve ever pulled.
- Toya & Reginae Season 2 (We TV Original Series)
New Season Premieres Friday, January 24 on We TV and ALLBLK (9:00pm ET on We TV)
The stakes are higher and the drama deeper for Toya Johnson Rushing and daughter, Reginae Carter, this season as the duo continue to juggle life, love, family, and their ever-growing careers in the spotlight… from different coasts. Toya’s excitement over her brother Walter’s return from prison quickly fades as tension bubbles up within the family and her personal life. Meanwhile, Reginae hustles to land a major acting role, all while keeping a mysterious new relationship under wraps. From family milestones to personal challenges and triumphs, this season promises to be the realest, rawest, most unfiltered season yet!
- Love During Lockup Season 5 (We TV Original Series)
New Episodes Every Friday Until the Season Finale on January 31 on We TV and ALLBLK (8:00pm ET on We TV)
The prequel to Love After Lockup, Love During Lockup reveals the fascinating moments that happen when people in the free world look for love and begin relationships with inmates, capturing their journey as they count down the days, weeks, months, or even years until the anticipated release. The captivating docuseries introduces viewers to six people outside of prison and follows them through the early stages of their romance with an inmate (or multiple inmates). Each person has a unique process for finding love behind bars. Some are only interested in drug offenders who they know are nonviolent. Some have fallen for a prisoner who they believe was wrongly convicted, while some are just looking for their prison bae. Regardless of their type, each has a specific reason for looking for love with someone behind bars.
On SUNDANCE NOW (also available on AMC+):
- White Lies (Sundance Now Premiere)
New Episodes Continue Every Thursday Until The Season Finale on January 16
Set in the wealthy neighborhood of Bishopscourt in Cape Town, South Africa, investigative journalist Edie Hansen (Natalie Dormer, Game of Thrones, The Tudors) gets caught up in the ugly underbelly that lies beneath the picturesque beauty of the city, dragging her back to her turbulent past. Following her estranged brother’s murder in his luxury home, Edie’s world plunges deeper into chaos when her brother’s teenage children become prime suspects for the crime. As Edie investigates, she finds herself at loggerheads with veteran detective Forty Bell (Brendon Daniels, Four Corners), and grapples with the crumbling local police force, a corrupt political system, and the secretive world of extreme Cape wealth.
- The Newsreader (Sundance Now Premiere)
New Episodes Continue Every Thursday Until The Season Finale on January 23
In the maelstrom of commercial television newsroom in 1986, Dale Jennings (Sam Reid, Interview with the Vampire) is a diligent young reporter, desperate to become a newsreader. Helen Norville (Anna Torv, Fringe) is a notoriously ‘difficult’ star newsreader determined to build credibility. Paired together over three months, Dale and Helen will cover an extraordinary chain of news events — from the shock of the Challenger explosion, to the hype of Halley’s Comet, to the complexities of the AIDS crisis. From messy beginnings, a deep bond is formed that will upend their lives and transform the very fabric of the nightly news bulletin.
About AMC Networks:
AMC Networks (Nasdaq: AMCX) is home to many of the greatest stories and characters in TV and film and is the premier destination for passionate and engaged fan communities around the world. The Company creates and curates celebrated series and films across distinct brands and makes them available to audiences everywhere. Its portfolio includes targeted streaming services AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK and HIDIVE; cable networks AMC, BBC AMERICA (which includes U.S. distribution and sales responsibilities for BBC News), IFC, SundanceTV and We TV; and film distribution labels IFC Films and RLJE Films. The Company also operates AMC Studios, its in-house studio, production and distribution operation behind acclaimed and fan-favorite original franchises including The Walking Dead Universe and the Anne Rice Immortal Universe; and AMC Networks International, its international programming business.