Projects Include: Against the Guns of Quantrill (Michael Blake and Lou Morheim); Berlin Mesa (Michael Frost Beckner, John Baldecchi, and Rich Silverman); Skylark (Michael Nankin, Jonathan Baruch with CBS/Paramount);White Rose (John Leekley); and L-19 (William Brookfield, Gub Neal, and Justin Thompson Glover)
New York, New York – April 18, 2007 – On the heels of its most successful ratings quarter in network history, AMC announced today its continued commitment to miniseries with an expansive slate of original miniseries programming in development. The network first entered the miniseries arena in 2006 with Broken Trail, the award winning movie-event starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church. The premiere of the epic western set a new standard for miniseries, ranking as the number one most watched cable movie of the decade and defining AMC's strategy for original miniseries productions. Today's announcement establishes AMC's investment in the format and brings industry leaders Michael Blake (Dances With Wolves) and Lou Morheim (Magnificent Seven, The Hunting Party); Michael Frost Beckner (Spygame, The Agency); John Baldecchi (The Mexican) and Rich Silverman, Michael Nankin (Battlestar Galactica) and Jonathan Baruch (Night Watch); John Leekley (Spawn, The Kindred); William Brookfield (Close Your Eyes), Gub Neal and Justin Thompson Glover of Box TV (Case of Evil) to the network, further expanding AMC's original programming momentum.
In addition to the miniseries announced today, AMC recently announced a renewed partnership with Thomas Haden Church for the development of a four-hour western miniseries, The Last Horseman, co-written with David Denny. In recent months, the network also announced an extensive slate of original series in development with industry vets including: Tom Fontana (OZ); Freddy DeMann (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers); William Finkelstein (Law & Order); Kip Koenig (Grey's Anatomy); David Semel (Heroes, House); Karen Hall (E-Ring, Judging Amy); Michael Oates Palmer (Shark, West Wing); Jason Rothenberg (Girlfight), Scott Villa (The Simple Life, Medical Investigation); Adam Glass (All About the Andersons); Bob Cooper and Orin Woinsky of Landscape Entertainment; and Stacy Title and Jonathan Penner (The Lone Ranger, 2003).
"The success of Broken Trail put AMC's miniseries development on a fast track," stated Rob Sorcher, Executive Vice President of Programming and Production for AMC. "The creative community has quickly embraced our mission to deliver the highest quality entertainment in cinema genres where AMC is already an established leader."
Following is a breakdown of the AMC miniseries in development:
Against The Guns of Quantrill
Written by Michael Blake (Dances With Wolves) and Executive Produced Lou by Morheim (Magnificent Seven, The Hunting Party). Confederate prisoners of war must defend a Union town against Quantrill and his infamous raiders during the Civil War.
Berlin Mesa
Written and Executive Produced by Michael Frost Beckner (Spygame, The Agency), Executive Produced by John Baldecchi (The Mexican & Deep Rising), and Rich Silverman. With the aid of a young ranch hand, an FBI Agent works to stop escaped Nazi prisoners of war in New Mexico, attempting to steal nuclear secrets during World War II.
Skylark
Written and Executive Produced by Michael Nankin (Battlestar Galactica), Executive Produced by Jonathan Baruch of Relevant Entertainment Group (Night Watch), and Produced by CBS Paramount. A young Jewish woman from a small French village must lead American Soldiers to safety through Nazi occupied France during World War II.
White Rose
Executive Produced and Written by John Leekley (Spawn, The Kindred)
A detective investigates the nonviolent German youth uprising against Nazi, Germany.
L-19
Written by William Brookfield (Close Your Eyes) and Executive produced by Box TV's Gub Neal (Cracker, Case of Evil) and Justin Thompson Glover (Case of Evil). Based on true events during WW1; after a German Zeppelin crashes into the North Sea, the crew is discovered by members of a British fishing boat, but left to die. The German Navy mistakenly arrests a different British Fishing crew and forces them to stand trial for actions they did not commit.
AMC is off to a strong start with 1Q 07 ranking as its best quarter ever in key primetime demo delivery, including A25-54 (520,000); A18-49 (440,000); M25-54 (320,000); M18-49 (271,000); and A18-34 (151,000). In addition, AMC ranked among Top 10 in prime Men 25-54 delivery among all ad-supported networks for the quarter, an increase of 31% year to year for the network. Available to over 90 million homes, AMC ranked #1 in impression growth in all of cable for Men 25-54 (up 76,000), #3 for Men 18-49 (up 63,000), and #3 for A25-54 (up 120,000).
Source: Nielsen Media Research 1/1/07-4/1/07. Prime M-Su 8-11p. Rank among all ad-supported networks broadcasting more than 51% of the daypart. Growth based on impression delivery growth vs 1Q06 (12/26/05-4/2/06)
About AMC
AMC, a division of Rainbow Media's Entertainment Services, which also includes WE tv and IFC Companies, is a 24-hour, movie-based network, dedicated to the American movie fan. The network, which reaches over 90 million homes, offers a comprehensive library of popular movies and a critically-acclaimed slate of original programming that is a diverse, movie-based mix of original series, documentaries and specials. AMC has garnered many of the industry's highest honors, including 14 Emmy awards. AMC is "TV for movie people."
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform programming for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Rainbow Sports Networks managed FSN Bay Area and FSN New England, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. The company also manages Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division, and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.