Age of The Nerd
AMC Networks announced today from the Television Critics’ Association (TCA) Press Tour the premiere dates for several new and returning original series, including AMC’s groundbreaking martial arts drama Into the Badlands and western drama The Son, BBC AMERICA’s Top Gear and Luther, IFC’s Brockmire and SundanceTV’s Ministry of Evil, Unspeakable and The Name of the Rose. As previously announced, AMC’s The Walking Dead and Ride with Norman Reedus return with new episodes tomorrow, February 10, at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT and midnight ET/11:00 p.m. CT, respectively; and BBC AMERICA and AMC will simulcast the second season of Killing Eve on Sunday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT.
Premiere date and series information is below (by network):
AMC
Into the Badlands
Sunday, March 24 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT
AMC’s groundbreaking martial arts drama Into the Badlands will conclude with its final eight episodes on Sunday, March 24 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT following a new episode of The Walking Dead. The series will then move to its regular timeslot with a new episode on Monday, March 25 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT.
As we enter the final chapter of Into the Badlands, an imprisoned Bajie warns Sunny that Pilgrim can’t be trusted. But with his son’s life on the line, Sunny struggles with his decision to help Pilgrim unlock the Meridian Chamber. Meanwhile, M.K., still reeling from the revelation that Sunny killed his mother, is hell-bent on revenge. Kidnapped by The Master, the Widow is forced to confront her past. Moon meanwhile races to save Lydia from impending death after she risked her life for his on the battlefield. As the last episodes unfold long buried secrets will be revealed, new alliances will be forged, and the saga will climax in an epic battle to end all battles.
From AMC Studios, Into the Badlands was created by executive producers, showrunners and writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and is executive produced by Oscar®-nominated producers Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg, along with David Dobkin, Stephen Fung, Michael Taylor, Karen Richards, Paco Cabezas and series lead Daniel Wu. The ensemble cast includes Wu (Sunny), Nick Frost (Bajie), Aramis Knight (M.K.), Emily Beecham (The Widow), Orla Brady (Lydia), Ally Ioannides (Tilda), Lorraine Toussaint (Cressida), Sherman Augustus (Moon), Babou Ceesay (Pilgrim), Ella-Rae Smith (Nix) and Lewis Tan (Gaius).
The Son
Saturday, April 27 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT
Based on Philipp Meyer’s New York Times best-selling and Pulitzer Prize finalist novel of the same name, season two of The Son concludes the journey of the iconic “First Son of Texas.” Eli McCullough (Pierce Brosnan) will stop at nothing to secure his legacy against the backdrop of the nascent oil industry of 1917. His tools are deceit, fraud and murder — weapons he wields with the effortless skill of the Comanche warrior he once was. But the biggest challenge he faces will be quelling a civil war under his own roof, triggered by his idealistic son Pete (Henry Garrett). Eli knows the ultimate prize of American dynasty is nearly in his grasp, and time is running out. Meanwhile, in 1851, young Eli (Jacob Lofland) is now married and a respected warrior among the Comanches, but tragedy forces him into a leadership position as the vast Comanche empire crumbles around him. Broadening the scope, a 1988 timeline is introduced, bringing the McCullough saga into the more immediate past. Here, at age 85, Eli’s granddaughter Jeanne Anne McCullough (Lois Smith) is confronted with a long-buried family secret.
The Son is produced by AMC Studios and Sonar Entertainment. Showrunner and writer Kevin Murphy, director Kevin Dowling, author Philipp Meyer, and Sonar Entertainment’s Tom Lesinski and Jenna Santoianni are Executive Producers. In addition to Brosnan, Smith, Garrett and Lofland, the series also stars Paola Núñez, Zahn McClarnon, Jess Weixler, David Wilson Barnes, Sydney Lucas, James Parks, Elizabeth Frances, Shane Graham and Kathryn Prescott.
BBC AMERICA
Top Gear
Thursday, April 25 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT
The world’s biggest car show is back. Top Gear Season 26 sees Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, Rory Reid and The Stig return. Five hour-long episodes see the team discovering the very best supercar alternatives to the traditional family estate car from Ferrari and Porsche, racing to the top of a mountain in a pair of the smallest 4×4’s in the UK, risking life and limb in Tuk-Tuk’s across Sri-Lanka on both land and sea, measuring just how scary the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is with the with the new-fangled gadget the ‘Fearometer 3000’, and finding out if you can buy and race second-hand luxury cars for less than the cost of a Dacia Sandero. Filmed in locations including Norway, Sri Lanka and Spain, expect Top Gear’s trademark array of stunning photography, state-of-the-art supercars and celebrity guests on the track in Top Gear’s Reasonably Fast Car. Top Gear is produced by BBC Studios. Executive producer is Clare Pizey and series editor is Alex Renton.
Luther
Sunday, June 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT
A new spate of nightmarish murders brings DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) to once again face the depths of human depravity on the streets of London. While the monstrous and seemingly indiscriminate killings become ever more audacious and public, Luther and new recruit D.S. Catherine Halliday (Wunmi Mosaku) are confounded by a complex tangle of leads and misdirection that seems designed to protect an untouchable corruption. As the body count rises, and gangster George Cornelius (Patrick Malahide) applies his own pressure, can Luther catch a killer and save his own neck? Luther is produced by BBC Studios and co-produced with BBC AMERICA. Executive producers are Idris Elba for Green Door Pictures, Neil Cross, Marcus Wilson and Hilary Salmon for BBC Studios and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC, producer is Derek Ritchie and director is Jamie Payne.
IFC
Brockmire
Wednesday, April 3 at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT
Brockmire follows Jim Brockmire (Hank Azaria), a famed major league baseball announcer who suffered a notorious public breakdown after stumbling upon his wife’s infidelity – a breakdown so bad that “Brutal Brockmire” became a viral internet meme. Season one began a decade later, as Brockmire looked to reclaim his career and reputation by calling games for the Morristown Frackers, an underdog minor league baseball team. Despite finding happiness in Morristown alongside his girlfriend/team owner Jules (Amanda Peet), season two began with a newly-single Brockmire calling games in New Orleans and living with his co-dependent friend Charles (Tyrel Jackson Williams) …while fully indulging in the city’s booze-riddled sins. When a drug-fueled night of partying with a stranger ends with a near-death experience, Brockmire realizes it’s time to get sober once and for all.
Season three takes place three months after his stint in rehab, with Brockmire doing play-by-play in the radio booth for the major leagues in central Florida during spring training while maintaining his brazen and narcissistic tendencies, despite actually being on the wagon. When an opportunity arises for Jim and his new co-host Gabby (Tawny Newsome) to take over as lead broadcasters in Oakland, he must fight to change his ever-present amorality. Additional season three guest stars include Richard Kind, Linda Lavin, Martha Plimpton, J.K. Simmons, Christine Woods and Becky Ann Baker.
Brockmire originally appeared as a viral short video on the award-winning comedy website Funny Or Die. The series is written and developed by Joel Church-Cooper (Undateable). This season Azaria, Church-Cooper and Funny Or Die’s Mike Farah and Joe Farrell are executive producers. Mo Marable is also an executive producer and series director.
SUNDANCETV
Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo
Wednesday, February 27 at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT
Ministry of Evil chronicles the life and crimes of Tony Alamo, who, together with his wife, became a born-again, fire-and-brimstone televangelist and cult leader. The two launched The Tony and Susan Alamo Christian foundation in 1969, which soon evolved into a cult that is said to still operate today. Together, by skirting the law and enforcing a code of silence among their followers, the Alamos came to wield unimaginable power, becoming millionaires on the backs of their believers. The new docuseries explores the cultural consequences of the Alamo empire and features rare archival footage, including an exclusive videotaped deposition with Alamo himself. It also weaves together interviews with the FBI agent who took Alamo down as well as cult survivors who have never previously shared their stories.
Ministry of Evil comes from AMC Studios, World of Wonder and Peacock Productions. Emmy-Award® winners and co-founders of World of Wonder Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and Peacock Productions Elizabeth Fischer and Leslie Mattingly serve as executive producers on the series.
Unspeakable
Two-Night Premiere Event
First episode debuts Thursday, April 4 at 9:00 p.m. PT/12 midnight ET
Second episode debuts Friday, April 5 at 9:00 p.m PT/12 midnight ET
Created by Robert C. Cooper (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Stargate SG-1) and based on first-person experience, Unspeakable chronicles the emergence of HIV and Hepatitis C in Canada in the early 1980s. Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead) stars as a whistleblower who exposes one of the largest medical disasters in history and the tragedy that resulted after thousands of people were infected by tainted blood.
A CBC and SundanceTV original series, Unspeakable is produced by Mezo Entertainment, with Cooper and Meridian Artists’ Glenn Cockburn serving as executive producers. The series is a passion project for Cooper, who himself was a victim, having contracted Hepatitis C from tainted blood. The series is written by Cooper, Carl Binder, Adriana Capozzi and Lynn Coady, with Cooper and Callies set to direct episodes.
The Name of the Rose
Wednesday, May 1 at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT
The Name of the Rose is based on Umberto Eco’s highly acclaimed novel which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1980. The limited series is led by an all-star cast including Emmy Award®-winner John Turturro (The Night Of), Emmy Award®-winner Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest), Golden Globe® nominee Rupert Everett (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children), Damian Hardung (Red Band Society), Sebastian Koch (Homeland), James Cosmo (Game of Thrones), Richard Sammel (Inglourious Basterds), Fabrizio Bentivoglio (Human Capital) and Greta Scarano (In Treatment).
Set in Italy in 1327, The Name of the Rose follows the Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Turturro) and his novice Adso von Melk (Hardung) as they arrive at a secluded monastery in the Alps. There they become witnesses to a series of mysterious murders. While Baskerville and Melk investigate and search for the killer, they are hunted themselves by the merciless inquisitor Bernard Gui (Everett), who prosecutes those who criticize the pope.
Filmed in Italy, The Name of the Rose is a co-production of 11 Marzo Film, Palomar and Tele München Group in collaboration with Rai Fiction and directed by Giacomo Battiato. Producers are Matteo Levi from 11 Marzo as well as Carlo Degli Esposti and Nicola Serra from Palomar. Executive Producers are Guendalina Ponti, John Turturro and Patrizia Massa; Herbert G. Kloiber and Herbert L. Kloiber from Tele München Group as well as Michele Zatta and Marta Aceto from Rai.
