AMC Networks set premiere dates for several new and returning original series, BBC AMERICA’s Top Gear and Luther, IFC’s Brockmire and SundanceTV’s Ministry of Evil, Unspeakable and The Name of the Rose. The announcements were made at winter TCA.
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)
BBC AMERICA
Top Gear
Thursday, April 25 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT
Top Gear Season 26 sees Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, Rory Reid and The Stig return. Five hour-long episodes are planned, including 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 danger in Tuk-Tuk’s across Sri-Lanka on both land and sea; measuring just how scary the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is with the 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 Norway, Sri Lanka and Spain, 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.
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