From Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley (Spooks), Humans focuses on a world consumed by the latest tech innovation – synths, robotic servants who are eerily similar to their live counterpart. While the thought of making life easier and removing some of the weight from one’s subconscious is quite tempting, one family orders a synth and soon learns that what they save as far as workload might be outweighed by the fallout from bringing the synth into their home. The series is based on acclaimed Swedish drama Real Humans, which completed its 10-episode second season this past February.

Humans will be the second genre show on AMC following megahit The Walking Dead and joins fellow new drama Badlands on the network’s 2015 scripted slate. With Breaking Bad over and Mad Men heading out the door next year, AMC has been trying to find series capable of producing solid ratings and generating buzz, as the likes of Turn, Halt and Catch Fire, Low Winter Sun, and Rubicon have lacked in at least one area each. Currently, the network is heavy on crime dramas and historical fiction, so Humans could be just the show they need to expand their audience and remind critics of the adventurous development that wrought the likes of Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

You can check out a trailer for Real Humans below.

Will you be watching Humans? Do you think this is the project that’ll bring AMC the combination of strong ratings and strong critical notice that they haven’t had for a new series in a while? Would you like to see AMC continuing pursuing genre shows and lessen its presence in the worlds of crime dramas and historical fiction?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwh3xxozlZs

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“With its cinematic look, raw intensity, and fascinating view of a little-known subculture, Game of Arms has become a defining unscripted series for AMC,” said Eliot Goldberg, AMC’s senior vice president of unscripted programming.  “Undertow Films delivered a visually stunning first season and we are thrilled to continue to explore these fascinating characters and rivalries in season two.”

Averaging nearly 750,000 total viewers in L+7 numbers, Game of Arms follows members of various regional arm-wrestling clubs, with the focus of the series being the preparation that goes into competitive arm-wrestling, the grueling matches that competitors are forced to endure, and the sacrifices that the club members make in the pursuit of victory. The second season order for Game of Arms comes after AMC ordered three new unscripted series for 2015: All-Star Celebrity Bowling, where two celebrity casts face off in a bowling match for charity; an untitled Billy Corgan wrestling docu-drama, where Corgan becomes the Creative Director of a Chicago wrestling league; and Visionaries, centered on the employees of Vision Scenery as they design and construct Hollywood sets, props, and commercial models.

AMC’s unscripted slate currently includes Walking Dead post-show Talking Dead, acclaimed Small Town Security, comic store-set Comic Book Men, docu-drama Freakshow, and Arena Football-set 4th and Loud.

Did you watch the first season of Game of Arms? What would you like to see out of a second season? What type of unscripted series should AMC be going after?

The post Game of Arms Renewed for Season 2 by AMC appeared first on TVHackr.

“This is a show about invention, experimentation, and the inherent risks in trying to break new ground – themes that really resonate with us as a network and attracted a passionate audience,” said Charlie Collier, AMC president. “We have a history of demonstrating patience through the early seasons of new shows, betting on talent and building audience over time. We see that opportunity here and look forward to a second season of Halt and Catch Fire from creators Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers, and showrunner Jonathan Lisco.”

Created by Christopher Cantwell (Vicariously) and newcomer Christopher C. Rogers, Halt and Catch Fire tells the story of the personal computer revolution that took place in the early 1980s. Set in the Silicon Prairie of Texas, the series focuses on Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace), a key player in the creation of the IBM personal computer, as he attempts to make a name for himself in the world of technology. In addition to Pace, Halt and Catch Fire stars Scoot McNairy (Argo), Mackenzie Davis (That Awkward Moment), Kerry Bishe (Scrubs), and Toby Huss (The Adventures of Pete & Pete).

Over the course of its 10-episode season, Halt and Catch Fire lost over half of its Live + Same Day audience, making its renewal a bit of a surprise. It seemed that, with the success of Turn and the lack of buzz surrounding Halt for much of its season, AMC would move on from the show, but with the positive critical attention Halt and Catch Fire gained toward the end of the season and strong DVR viewing, the show managed to earn itself a renewal.

Since the show was on an island for most of the season, it might be in AMC’s best interest to pair it with something like Mad Men and shift Turn to Saturdays to go along with fellow historical drama Hell on Wheels. However, it seems more likely that Turn will stay with Mad Men and that Halt and Catch Fire will get paired with a new show come summer 2015.

Are you surprised that Halt and Catch Fire was renewed? What would you like to see from season two? How far into the tech revolution should the show go?

The post Halt and Catch Fire Renewed for Season 2 by AMC appeared first on TVHackr.

“We are incredibly excited to help Al and Miles, as well as Stacey and Michael from Double Feature to bring Badlands to life,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content. “This creative team has so much expertise in bringing a fresh take to classic genres from their film and television experience, and their take on martial arts will be no exception. Along with a beautiful story, they’ve also assembled the A-Team of martial arts fight choreography in Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung.”

Created by Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville) and loosely based on Chinese tale Journey to the West, Badlands follows a great warrior and his young protégé as they journey across a dangerous land controlled by feudal barons in search of enlightenment. Among the executive producers for the project, which has yet to begin casting, will be Daniel Wu (Tai Chi Zero) and Michael Shamberg (Contagion).

Badlands comes at a time when AMC is struggling to find its next breakout hit after The Walking Dead, which premiered in 2010. Since then, they’ve touched on dramas about crime (Low Winter Sun, The Killing), war (Turn), and technology (Halt and Catch Fire) to lukewarm results, so Badlands likely won’t have that high a fence to clear in order to secure a renewal. However, with Better Call Saul and a Walking Dead spin-off looming, the series might have more competition for scheduling space than initially expected.

The six-episode first season of Badlands is set to premiere in late 2015 or early 2016.

Will you be watching Badlands? Do you think the show will be able to find an audience on AMC? Are you surprised that it’s taken this long for a scripted martial arts drama to make it to American television?

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The series will be the second new drama to premiere on AMC this year, as it will assume the Sundays at 10:00 slot from fellow freshman period piece Turn and precede the November premiere of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. More interestingly, Halt and Catch Fire won’t be the only tech-heavy scripted series to make its premiere on cable this year, with HBO comedy Silicon Valley set to bow this coming April. It already has a decent amount of pressure on its shoulders due to AMC needing to find another buzzy drama hit after the cancellation of The Killing, the conclusion of Breaking Bad, the impending conclusion of Mad Men, and the Saturday-ification of Hell on Wheels, so the looming presence of Saul Goodman and the possibility of being beaten to the punch by Silicon Valley will make the show’s numbers, and the standard in which AMC holds the show, all the more intriguing.

Halt and Catch Fire stars Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Scoot McNairy (12 Years a Slave), Mackenzie Davis (That Awkward Moment), Kerry Bishe (Scrubs), and Toby Huss (King of the Hill).

Will you be watching Halt and Catch Fire? What do you think the first trailer for the show will look like? Is this going to be a strong companion with Mad Men or are the two going to be too incompatible?

The post Halt and Catch Fire to Premiere June 1st on AMC appeared first on TVHackr.

The first half of Mad Men‘s final season will begin its run on Sunday, April 13 at 10 PM.  One week earlier, on April 6, the network’s new Revolutionary War drama Turn will get a 90-minute premiere at 9 PM.

Better Call Saul, which focus on Saul Goodman before he became Walter White’s attorney on Breaking Bad, will debut some time in November – a specific date has yet to be determined.

The Chris Hardwick-hosted talk show The Talking Dead, which airs following new episodes of the network’s hit, The Walking Dead has unsurprisingly been renewed for a fifth season after delivering a series high among total viewers with the first half of its fourth season.  Hardwick told critics earlier this week that he’d continue hosting the series as long as AMC would have him.  Both The Walking Dead and The Talking Dead will begin their new seasons in October, with a concrete premiere date likely to be announced at this year’s Comic-Con.

Freshman series Halt and Catch Fire, which revolves around the personal computing era in the early 1980s will launch this summer- a specific date to be determined.  Hell on Wheels will also return later in the summer. The unscripted  Game of Arms will premiere Tuesday, February 25 at 10 PM, followed in May by the returns of Freakshow and Small Town Security.

“We are extremely excited about the 2014 lineup,” AMC president and General Manager Charlie Collier said.  “Both the returning and new series reflect our commitment to serving passionate audiences with compelling, character-driven storytelling.”

What are you most excited to see from AMC this year?

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“John Wirth and his team on both sides of the camera delivered a remarkable third season and Hell On Wheels fans responded. We are so proud of this show and congratulate everyone who has contributed to its success,” said Charlie Collier, AMC president. “AMC has served passionate Western fans for three decades, so it is particularly gratifying to see these viewers capping off their Saturdays with an original Western on what has historically been a tough night of the week for television. Our commitment to the genre is unwavering and we look forward to continuing to super-serve this audience with an expanded fourth season of Hell on Wheels.”

Hell on Wheels becomes something of a cable anomaly with its renewal, as Saturdays have become the no man’s land of the television industry, not exactly conducive to survival of original scripted series. However, by concentrating its recently acquired library of western movies on the night, AMC was able to grow the show’s audience during season three, where it drew an average of 3.3 million viewers, live and with three days of time shifting. While this doesn’t mean that cable networks are going to suddenly discover the value of Saturday programming, considering that Hell on Wheels thriving is a special case, the fact that the show was able to make it on a traditionally lower-viewed night means that your favorite middling Sunday performer might not be as dead as you think it is.

What did you think of this past season of Hell on Wheels? Was the de-emphasis on Bohannon’s revenge arc for the better of the show? Where would you like the show to go during season four?

The post Hell on Wheels Renewed for Season 4 by AMC appeared first on TVHackr.

Better Call Saul always had a good chance of getting on the air, considering the popularity of the character and AMC’s desire to continue doing business with Vince Gilligan, but once Breaking Bad shattered its ratings records for the final half of its fifth season, it was a guaranteed pickup, especially considering the cancellation of The Killing, underwhelming ratings for Low Winter Sun, and the impending departure of Mad Men. However, whether the show will be a success or not remains to be seen, as television spinoffs have historically been hit or miss, especially with it comes to spinning off dramas.

There could also be the chance that while Saul’s character is popular and a good source of comic relief in the darkness that is Breaking Bad, it’s not enough to build a series around and even a series of Breaking Bad-related cameos from those who survive the series might not be enough to draw outside interest. Working in the show’s favor, though, is just how beloved its mothership has become during its five season run and the ratings high that it’s going out on, which could bleed over to the spinoff and give it a pretty sizeable launching pad. But who will be joining Saul in the spinoff?

Breaking Bad airs Sundays at 9:00 on AMC, with the series finale scheduled for Sunday, September 29th.

Would you watch a spinoff focused on Saul? Which characters from Breaking Bad would you like to see appear on the series? Can something like Better Call Saul escape the enormous shadow of Breaking Bad and find an audience of its own?

The post Breaking Bad: Better Call Saul Spinoff Greenlit appeared first on TVHackr.

In Owner’s Manual, hosts Ed Sanders (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) and Marcus Hunt (Hammer Heads) tackle weekly challenges related to machinery and technology. The catch? One man will try to operate their latest obstacle using only the instruction manual, while the other will go strictly by his instincts. The first episode finds the duo attempting to fly a stunt plane over the Pacific Ocean, with later episodes centered on locomotives, off-road vehicles, and a Hawaiian brewery.

Low Winter Sun tells the story of Detroit detectives Frank (Mark Strong) and Joe (Lennie James), who team up to kill one of their colleagues. However, despite their experience in the field and knowledge of how murders are solved and what cops look for at crime scenes, it doesn’t go as easily as they thought and soon, the two are at each other’s throats over what they did. Will Frank and Joe be able to keep their cool and avoid blowing their covers to their fellow officers? Or will the guilt plaguing Frank and Joe’s carelessness eventually catch someone’s attention and cause the two to be brought in for the murder? In addition to Strong and James, Low Winter Sun stars the likes of James Ransone (The Wire), David Costabile (Lincoln), Sprague Grayden (Jericho), Athena Karkanis (Saw IV), and Ruben Santiago-Hudson (American Gangster).

Owner’s Manual airs Thursdays at 10:30 on AMC, while Low Winter Sun airs Sundays at 10:00 following Breaking Bad. The latter aired its second episode last night, which saw ratings take a tumble and its fate get less secure than it was after a modest debut.

How does Owner’s Manual compare to AMC’s other reality programming? Is the network doing Low Winter Sun a disservice by airing it after Breaking Bad? Do you like cable networks putting series premiere up for viewing on Youtube?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffv-lLe0RCw

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Halt & Catch Fire takes a look at the computing boom of the 1980s and follows a visionary, an engineer, and a prodigy as they tackle an industry that could make or break their personal and professional partnerships. The series stars the likes of Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Scoot McNairy (Argo), Mackenzie Rio Davis (Smashed), Kerry Bishe (Red State), and David Wilson Barnes (The Bourne Legacy).

Meanwhile, Turn, developed and written by Nikita’s Craig Silverstein, is based on Alexander Rose’s Washington’s Spies and takes place in the year 1778. The series follows a New York farmer who helps form an unlikely group of spies and stars Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot), Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides), and Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises).

“The simultaneous greenlights today are the first in network history and  underscore AMC’s growth and commitment to original scripted programming,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content. “Each of these projects takes the audience into a unique world through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be  working with such exceptional talent on these series and can’t wait to bring  them to viewers.”

It should be interesting to see how the greenlight for both Halt & Catch Fire and Turn will impact the fates of The Killing and Hell on Wheels, the two weakest performers in ratings and critical reviews that the network has. The Killing, which is currently airing its third season, might be saved due to the deal the network made with Netflix that lowered the licensing fee, in addition to the more positive reception it’s had this season; meanwhile, Hell on Wheels is owned by the network, but its move to Saturdays doesn’t inspire confidence that it can keep its head above water, particularly with a new showrunner at the helm. Could AMC possibly keep all four, if ratings allow them to?

Which pilot do you think sounds better? Does the fact that AMC picked up two new shows mean that more pressure is now on The Killing and Hell on Wheels to perform? What type of show would you like to see the network pick up in the future?

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