AMC renews The Walking Dead

By John Freeman on November 9, 2010

A zombie from AMC’s
The Walking Dead
series, which launched at
Hallowe’en 2010 on AMC
and FX UK

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The Walking Dead, shown in the UK on FX TV and based on the hit comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and drawn by British creator Charlie Adlard, has been renewed by US producer AMC after just two episodes.

Sold to 120 countries worldwide, the show has been a huge ratings success, with World Screen reporting that the debut episode of the zombie-themed series was the highest rated show in its time slot on pay TV in the UK. It was also the highest rated premiere for a new show on FX in five years.

FX UK notched up 659,000 viewers for the show, after adding up all of the airings by Sunday. Based on the pattern of previous series, distributor Fox International Channels expects the show to get to one million once delayed viewing is added in.

The multi-award winning book published by Image in the US has been brought to life by American production company AMC — the US channel that gave us the Emmy award-winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

Produced by Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) and Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator), the six-episode series The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Steve Yeun, Emma Bell, Chandler Riggs, Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus.

“In just a few months, FIC and AMC have demonstrated the effects of a truly global collaboration resulting in the biggest global launch in TV’s history,” said David Haslingden, the CEO and president of Fox International Channels. “The strong performance results and numbers we are seeing this week, demonstrate the strong appeal of this high quality drama, as well as, the tremendous marketing efforts of our teams worldwide.”

“The Walking Dead is Must-Subscribe-To-Pay-TV at its best,” added Hernan Lopez, the COO of Fox International Channels. “As our platforms around the world continue to seek exclusive first run series in order to drive subscriptions, we’re thrilled to bring them exactly that, on a massive global scale.”

• Charile Adlard’s Official web site: www.charlieadlard.com

• Newarama Interview: Charlie Adlard

• The Walking Dead Blog on FX UK

• To watch an interview with the series’ stars, visit this page on World Screen

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.