Good news for fans of Talking Dead and Comic Book Men. AMC has renewed each for a second season of 16 episodes.
Talking Dead is an unscripted companion to the cable channel’s popular horror series, The Walking Dead, and typically follows episodes of that show. Season one had 13 episodes and concluded on March 18th. Walking Dead is expected to return sometime this fall and Talking Dead will surely accompany it.
Comic Book Men follows the staff and customers of the Secret Stash, a comic book store. The show ran for just six episodes and they finished airing on March 18th. There’s no word yet on when season two will air.
Here’s the press release from AMC:
AMC RENEWS “COMIC BOOK MEN” AND “TALKING DEAD”
AMC Orders 16 Episodes for Second Seasons of Unscripted Series
New York, NY – May 9, 2012 – AMC announced today a second season pick-up for its unscripted series “Comic Book Men” and “Talking Dead.” “Comic Book Men” is executive produced by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), Charlie Corwin’s Original Media (LA Ink, Storm Chasers, Swamp People) and Elyse Seiden (Red State). The series continues to delve into fanboy culture by following the antics in and around Smith’s New Jersey comic shop, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. “Talking Dead,” the network’s first live after show that serves as a platform for discussion for AMC’s series “The Walking Dead,” is executive produced by Michael Davies and co-executive produced by Jen Kelly from Embassy Row. Chris Hardwick (Nerdist; G4) is the host. Season two of both series consists of 16 half-hour episodes.
“Pinch my fat ass, ’cause I must be dreaming! A thousand thank you’s wouldn’t cover the gratitude I’m feeling right now. And as you might imagine, everyone at SModcast Pictures is in love with everyone at AMC today! Rest assured, Walt, Bry, Mike, Ming and I are suited up and ready to hit the ice for our second season with Team AMC,” said Smith.
“AMC set out to build shows around authentic characters and original worlds, and ‘Comic Book Men’ really delivers on both of these. Charlie Corwin and Kevin have created a truly unique show that is funny and informative – whether you like comic books or not; and the guys from The Stash are the kind of real life experts we always wanted to build the show around,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s EVP of original programming, production and digital content. “‘Talking Dead’ is just great synergy and it gives our audience a destination to continue the conversation about ‘The Walking Dead.’ We are thrilled that Chris is back to lead the discussion. He is genuinely knowledgeable about the genre, and truly entertaining.”
“‘Talking Dead’ has been an amazing experience and I cannot pile enough hugs and thanks onto AMC for renewing it. I CAN’T WAIT for Season 3 of Walking Dead, so that we can finally talk about Rick meeting [SPOILER] and [SPOILER]-ing him with a heavy-duty [SPOILER] at the [SPOILER]. And let’s not forget all the rest of the [SPOILER]s getting in on the action! [EXPLETIVE] me! It’s going to be great…,”said Hardwick.
“Comic Book Men” allows viewers to see the Secret Stash’s staff and customers geek out over mind-blowing pop culture artifacts and the legends behind them. Leading the crew behind the Secret Stash counter are moody manager Walt, uber-nerd Mike, career slacker Bryan and Ming, the shop’s go-to whipping boy. As the team buys, sells and discovers the treasures of the comic collecting world, they share all the juicy details with Kevin through their outrageous podcast, which is woven throughout the series. AMC’s season one of “Comic Book Men” reigns as the most engaging reality program on television.*
*Source: Nielsen TV Brand Effect (IAG), STD (09/12/11 – 4/29/12), A18-49 & A25-54, premiere episodes. All measured primetime broadcast and cable programs included.
“Talking Dead” features Hardwick spending time with fans, actors, producers and TV enthusiasts, recapping that most recent “Dead” episode, and taking questions and comments from viewers. Fans may continue to engage with the after show following the on-air conclusion, online, at amctv.com for more conversations, questions and trivia.
AMC’s Stillerman, Mary Conlon, Vice President of Non-Scripted Original Programming, Jason Fisher, SVP of production and Ari Mark, director of development, oversee the development and production for the network’s unscripted series.
About AMC
AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Television Series – Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC’s original stories include “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Killing” and “Hell on Wheels.” AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC’s Can’t Get Enough and AMC’s Crazy About. Available in more than 97 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.
What do you think? Are you a fan of either of these shows? Looking forward to their “super-sized” returns?
Image courtesy AMC.
