AMC’s past hits include Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Walking Dead. Today’s deal means Fear the Walking Dead, a spin-off of the last of these, will premiere in the UK exclusively on BT TV which has around 1.2m subscribers.
Fear the Walking Dead focuses on new characters and storylines and is currently in production in Vancouver and Los Angeles.
It series stars Kim Dickens (Gone Girl, “Sons of Anarchy”) as Madison, Cliff Curtis (“Missing,” “Gang Related”) as Travis, Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) as Nick and Alycia Debnam-Carey (Into the Storm) as Alicia. Also joining the cast as series regulars are Elizabeth Rodriguez (“Orange is the New Black”) as Liza and Mercedes Mason (Quarantine 2: Terminal) as Ofelia.
Two seasons have been ordered, the first of which consists of six one-hour episodes and will premiere on AMC later in the year. A second season will air next year.
The channel, which launches in September, will also feature big screen movies.
Adding AMC to its channel line-up marks a major expansion of BT’s exclusive content which has so far been focused on sports rights.
Last week the company revealed that TV customers would get free access to the new BT Sport Europe channel and unveiled plans for a 4K version of the channel which will be the exclusive home of the Champions League for at least the next three seasons.
Ed Carroll, AMC Networks COO, commented: “AMC has become synonymous with bold, dramatic original programming of the highest quality. We’re excited to partner with BT to launch AMC for the first time in the UK.
“This agreement highlights the strong demand for our channels and will enable us to continue developing a far-reaching platform for AMC’s original programming.”
Delia Bushell, managing director, of BT TV said, “We’re delighted to be launching AMC for the first time in the UK, enabling our viewers to watch series such as Fear the Walking Dead exclusively from BT.
“AMC has showcased some of the biggest and most celebrated series on US television in recent years, including Breaking Bad, and Mad Men.
“We’re confident our viewers will enjoy AMC’s cinematic approach to storytelling and look forward to offering them an outstanding selection of TV series and films in the months ahead.”
