Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company
The drama is based on the Dan Simmons novel.
AMC is getting into the anthology business.
The cabler has ordered an anthology series based on Dan Simmons' best-selling novel The Terror, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The project takes place in 1847, when a Royal Naval expedition crew looking for the Northwest Passage is attacked by a mysterious predator that stalks the ships and their crew. A suspenseful and desperate game of survival subsequently unfolds.
David Kajganich (True Story) will write and also serve as co-showrunner with Soo Hugh (The Killing). They will exec produce with Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker of Scott Free Productions, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert of Emjag Productions, and Entertainment 360's Guymon Casady. The three shingles will produce in association with AMC Studios.
Ten hour-long episodes have been ordered for a 2017 premiere.
“We’ve been focused on developing this incredible story for television with these great partners for a couple of years, and we think it provides rich dramatic material but also an opportunity to explore the anthology format, which is something we’re extremely interested in and offers some unique possibilities,” AMC and SundanceTV original programming and development president Joel Stillerman said. “Originality is still something that gets our attention every day, and the very unique mixing of historical non-fiction with a gripping and imaginative science fiction overlay in Dan’s novel is something that we hadn’t seen before. That, combined with an exceptional team behind the project made this something we really wanted to bring to air on AMC.”
Added Kajganich: “Dan's novel is that rare combination of fascinating actual history, ground-breaking genre storytelling, and the complex character work of literature. The chance to launch a series that will incorporate all of these elements going forward, and with a team of this caliber, is extraordinary.”
The Terror joins upcoming original series Preacher, based on the comic book of the same name, restaurant drama Feed the Beast and mini The Night Manager.
Anthology series have becoming increasingly popular on both cable networks like FX (American Horror Story, Fargo) as well as networks such as ABC (American Crime, Secrets and Lies) thanks to their ability to lure top talent with a smaller commitment as compared to a regular series as well as the ability to attract new viewers with a fresh concept every season.
AMC
