Ben Leuner/AMC
The nine-part series will kick off in the summer after — you guessed it — Comic-Con.
AMC is quite fond of Kevin Smith. The cable network, which has been home to the filmmaker's Comic Book Men since 2012, has now ordered a late-night talk-show vehicle for him. Geeking Out will find the comic personality, joined by Greg Grunberg, offering up a 30-minute take on popular culture.
“AMC has been my TV family for five seasons of Comic Book Men now, so I know that Geeking Out is in the perfect, fan-friendly network hands,” Smith said Thursday in a statement announcing the news. “I can’t wait to lose fluids on the airwaves of my favorite channel over the genre gems we’re gonna get insider access to due to gregarious Greg’s bonafides! And to make it even more of a family affair, Geeking Out lets me work with the Weinsteins again — the two guys who started my career 22 years ago! I’m lucky to be working at all, let alone working with friends and family on a dream show where all we do is talk about all the media that makes us moist!”
As Smith mentions in his lengthy statement, the nine-episode series will be produced by Matador Content and The Weinstein Company with Bandwagon Media with Jay Peterson, Patrick Reardon, Smith and Grunberg serving as executive producers. The show will air a special premiere in late July after Comic-Con International: San Diego, followed by eight weekly outings.
It's the second time that AMC has attempted to give Smith a talk vehicle. The cable network filmed a pilot version of his Hollywood Babble-On show that ultimately didn't go.
“Kevin and Greg are both true fans of this content, and share a deep passion for talking about it, and engaging other fans about it. But it is their natural chemistry as hosts that really brings this idea together,” said AMC president of original programming and development Joel Stillerman. “As part of our growing non-fiction slate, we wanted to create a broadly entertaining venue for hardcore fans and general viewers where we can break down all things fanboy on a weekly basis; and we wanted to bring those fans great interviews and exclusive looks into the world of fanboy culture. We look forward to sharing this highly entertaining duo with our viewers.”
Grunberg, whose latest gig was reprising his Heroes role for NBC's Heroes Reborn, is a new addition to the talk space — as is AMC. It's an arena where many cable networks have sought to go in recent years, meeting success (Bravo's Watch What Happens Live) and failure (FX's Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and Brand X With Russell Brand). Just this month, TBS added its second talker with Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.
