Ridley Scott Producing Thrilling New Anthology Series THE TERROR for AMC
AMC is moving forward with the development of a new anthology series called The Terror, and this sounds like it’s going to be an awesome show! The series is based on a novel written by Dan Simmons, and the script will be written by David Kajganich (True Story, A Bigger Splash).
According to Variety, the series is set in 1847, and it centers on a “Royal Naval expedition crew searching for the Northwest Passage.” In the process, they are attacked by “a mysterious predator that stalks the ships and their crew in a suspenseful and desperate game of survival.”
Ridley Scott and his Scott Free Productions are producing the series, which has received an order of 10 hourlong episodes from AMC. As of right now, they are looking at premiering The Terror in 2017, and they’ve hired Kajganich to be a co-showrunner on the series with Soo Hugh (The Killing). Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV had this to say in a statement:
“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. 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.”
Kajganich added:
“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.”
With AMC and Ridley Scott leading the charge on the series, there’s no doubt it going to be a top quality production, and I’m excited to see how it turns out. Here’s the official book description:
The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape. A haunting, gripping story based on actual historical events, The Terror is a novel that will chill you to your core.