Of the cable networks that are currently investing in original programming, few are holding a rep like AMC. Mad Men and Breaking Bad are consistently gushed over by critics, and The Walking Dead burst onto the scene in a big way last October.
Next up for AMC is The Killing, a mystery drama about the murder of a young girl in Seattle. It's based on the lauded Danish series Forbrydelsen and will run for 13 episodes. The show decided not to go with big-name stars, instead casting Billy Campbell (Once and Again), Mireille Enos (Big Love), Michelle Forbes (True Blood), and Brent Sexton (Deadwood).
As you can see from the trailer, the drama will be thick and heavy and the cinematography dark and gloomy, setting up a show that has the potential to be unlike anything else currently on TV. But the question is, will that translate into success? Will today's television audience respond?
What do you think of The Killing? Will it follow the success of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, or will it end up another Rubicon?
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
likeeeeeeee..............ok
In Denmark the original series did very well... It addapted the concept from 24 every episode was a full day in the series. I dont know how it will be recived in the states but hopefully good.
Rubicon just shows that not every edgy theme gets the green light. However, there's promise for this one, AMC probably still picks up better shows than most other.
@vstherevolution -- Don't get me wrong, I understand why they mentioned The Walking Dead and Mad Men... I think both of these shows are great. But would it have killed them to include Breaking Bad? That's what I don't get. Why leave it off? It has multiple emmy wins as well. Anyways I hope you are right about the 2 mil viewers. July can not come soon enough!
Watch the original Danish version. It's utterly gripping.
The show seems interesting, and I will absolutely watch it. But there is definitely a risk that the audience doesn't respond to it. Another question is how long lived a show like this is. One murder investigation? How many years do you want to follow a show like that? One the other hand if you try to make it more exiting by adding elements, e.g. more deaths, it becomes a whole other kind of show. A show that adds a lot to the original premise kind of looses the connection to its original idea. Well, we have to wait and see.
@fumbduck25 -- I agree it should be the #1 promoted cause it's still the best on the network overall, but The Walking Dead pulls such insane ratings for cable and Mad Men has won 13 emmys so far so those are the 2 most recognizable names. Hopefully this will change, they've been re-airing BB episodes a lot and there's a great teaser for the show on TWD Season 1 DVD. They're pushing hard to promote it before July so I think it'll pay off and hopefully get them over 2 million viewers this year.
I'm checking it out but not getting attached. I got too attached to Rubicon after 7 episodes and was surprised they went ahead and cancelled it when the ratings were slightly below Breaking Bad's first season. So basically I'm thinking that if it drops below a million viewers it's a goner and that's a pretty likely scenario.
I like AMC execs these days, except for canning Rubicon, which was one of the more intelligent programs on TV. I will definitely watch this one!
Yep Twin Peaks 2.0 but I'll give it achance. I like Rubicon and was disapointed to see it go.
I like Rubicon. I thought it was interesting and a refreshing new take on anti-terrorism and conspiracies (as compared to 24 and such), and was sad to see it go.This looks kind of like something they ripped off a BBC program, but hopefully won't be worse b/c of it.
Tim mentions Breaking Bad twice in this article, yet AMC's trailer leaves it off the list of "From The Network That Brought You"? What's the deal with that? BrBa should be number one on that list, not left off of it!
i think it will be good... I believe the first ep is also a 2-hour one.
Last time something was this hyped up, we ended up with the borefest known as Rubicon.
not interested in these kinds of tv shows. only good show AMC has had has been The Walking Dead, and Rubicon had it's moments,but was poorly executed
The original series is pretty awesome, the ripoff will be as *** as US-Ripoffs usually are..
I'll definitely check it out.
It's hard to tell with the background music but I'd swear the "narrator" calls the show The Killer at the end, instead of The Killing. Am I wrong?
twin peaks part 2