AMC Networks will lean on its horror-themed streaming service Shudder to help facilitate its annual AMC FearFest programming stunt as the television industry looks to scare up audience viewership during the traditional Halloween season.

AMC’s two-month "FearFest, Shocked by Shudder" celebration, which officially kicked off in September with AMC’s airing of Shudder’s 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of all Time special, will feature more than 700 hours of films, series, and specials within the genre across AMC, AMC Plus and Shudder, according to AMC Networks Executive VP of Streaming Courtney Thomasma.   

“Shudder is the [horror genre] content leader in the streaming space, so we reached out to their producers to help program FearFest,” she said.

Along with airings of classic films from such horror films as Halloween, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Exorcist, AMC will also feature original programming from Shudder, including the season four premiere of Creepshow. 

Thomasma says AMC Networks will also offer FearFest-branded movies and specials for its other networks, including IFC, WEtv, Acorn TV, and Sundance Now. Earlier this month Shudder teamed with Black audience-targeted streaming service ALLBLK to premiere its original horror film The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster.

Now in its 26th year, Thomasma says the FearFest stunt — launched originally as MonsterFest — has endured throughout the years as the horror genre has become more popular with viewers on multiple platforms. 

“Everything is so fragmented these days, but when this season comes around, everyone has a shared interest in the content and the genre,” she said. 

She also welcomes competition in the horror genre both on the linear and streaming front, adding that FearFest continues to curate an expansive lineup of horror content for fans to devour.

“FearFest has continued to deliver what audiences want to see during the season,” she said. 

Netflix's premiere of former NBC series Manifest and Starz's debut of the classic period drama Dangerous Liaisons highlights the list of show premieres during the first week of November.

Netflix on November 4 will debut the fourth and final season of the supernatural drama series Manifest, which originally aired on NBC. The series, which follows the exploits of passengers on a presumed crashed plane who re-appear after five and a half years, returns for the first of two parts on the streaming service.

Starz on November 6 will launch Dangerous Liaisons, the latest takeoff on the famous 18th century French novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The eight-episode series stars Alice Englert, Lesley Manville, Carice van Houten and Paloma Faith.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of October 31 to November 6 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

October 31 – Inside Man (drama) – Netflix

November 2 – The Independent (drama) – Peacock

November 3 – Blockbuster (comedy) – Netflix

November 3 – The Capture (returning series) – Peacock

November 3 – The Suspect (drama) – Sundance Now

November 4 – Causeway (movie) – Apple TV Plus

November 4 – Enola Holmes 2 (movie) – Netflix

November 4 – The Mosquito Coast (returning series) – Apple TV Plus

November 4 – My Policeman (movie) – Prime Video

November 4 – Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me (documentary) – Apple TV Plus

November 4 – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (movie) – The Roku Channel

November 5 – Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste (documentary) – Netflix

November 6 – Spector (documentary) –Showtime

Mood (drama) -- BBC America 

Season two of anthology drama State of the Union begins on SundanceTV, Sundance Now and AMC Plus February 14. Brendan Gleeson, Patricia Clarkson and Esco Jouley are in the cast 

There are 10 episodes, each one 10 minutes long. The series airs over ten nights on SundanceTV, and all episodes are available on the streaming networks. 

Nick Hornby and Stephen Frears are behind the series, which looks into relationships. 

Clarkson’s Ellen and Gleeson’s Scott are a married couple spending ten minutes in a Connecticut coffee shop before their marriage counseling sessions. 

“Each week, between the bickering, they begin to piece together what has gone wrong between them. As the weeks go by, they start to deconstruct their 30-year marriage. Past betrayals are aired, their sex life is re-examined, and their vulnerabilities are finally shared. By the end of 10 weeks of marital counselling, they’re not the same couple they used to be, but is making a change enough to save their marriage, or should they walk away?” goes the SundanceTV description. 

Gleeson played President Trump in The Comey Rule and Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films. 

Clarkson’s work includes Sharp Objects and House of Cards. 

Season one had Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd as a bickering couple. 

See-Saw Films produces the show. Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman are executive producers along with Hornby and Frears, with Sophie Reynolds producing the series for See-Saw Films.

Hornby’s novels include High Fidelity and About a Boy and the memoir Fever Pitch. ■ 

The return of HBO’s Emmy-winning series Euphoria highlights an otherwise light schedule of new and returning scripted series debuting on cable and streaming services during the first week of 2021.

The eight-episode, second season of Euphoria debuts on January 9, with actress Zendaya returning in her Emmy-winning role as troubled teenager Rue. Euphoria also stars Hunter Schafer, Nika King, Eric Dane and Angus Cloud.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of January 3 to January 9 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

January 6 – BattleBots (returning series) – Discovery

January 6 – Go-Big Show (returning series) – TBS

January 6 – Joe Montana: Cool Under Pressure (sports documentary) – Peacock

January 7 – Johnny Test (returning series) – Netflix

January 7 – Ladies Who List: Atlanta (reality) – OWN

January 7 – Love During Lockup (reality series) – WeETV

January 7 – Search Party (returning series) – HBO Max

January 7 – The Tender Bar (drama) – Prime Video

January 8 – A Discovery of Witches (returning series) – Sundance Now

January 9 – The Righteous Gemstones (returning series) – HBO

AMC Networks shifted two executives to give its streaming services more management attention as the company pivots its focus  towards its growing direct-to-consumer businesses.

Also Read: AMC Turns a Profit as Streaming Subs Top Targets

Courtney Thomasma was named general manager of AMC Plus, its commercial-free original content product, and Matt Graham was named general manager of AMC’s Sundance Now streaming service. Thomasma is assuming a new post, the Sundance Now position had been vacant.

At the same time, Blake Callaway is adding oversight of the BBC America  his cable network. He continues as executive director of the IFC and Sundance TV. Thomasma had been executive director of BBC America.

Like other programmers, AMC has been building a streaming business as cord-cutting puts financial pressure on the cable TV business. During its fourth-quarter earnings call in February, AMC said it has more than 6 million subscribers to its streaming services, which are targeted to specific genres, and don’t compete with the bigger, broader services like Netflix or Disney Plus. It said it expects to have 9 million paid subscribers by year end.

Also Read: AMC Upfront: Scripted Hits Reach Fans on Linear, Digital

Meanwhile operating income at AMC’s national cable networks fell 7.9% to $143.8 million in the fourth quarter, as revenue dropped 3% to $571.2 million.

Last year, AMC streamlined its network management and downsized its staff by 10% overall, incurring severance costs of $20 million to $30 million.

AMC said Thomasma will report to MIguel Penella, AMC Networks’ president of SVOD, who added oversight of AMC Plus last September. She has been with AMC Networks since 2013. As executive director of BBC America, she oversaw programming including Killing Eve and launched Wonderstruck, a 24-hour block of nature programming on Saturdays.

In addition to being responsible for Acorn TV, Graham will continue as general manager of Acorn TV, another AMC streaming service. He has been GM of Acorn TV since 2014. He will also report to Penella.

With his new responsibilities for BBC America, Callaway will work closely with BBC Studios. Callaway has been with AMC since 2011 and will continue to report to COO Ed Carroll.

“Courtney, Matt and Blake are accomplished leaders who have all made meaningful contributions to the success of our company, particularly through their dynamic oversight of many of our most important brands and businesses,” Carroll said. “We are pleased to recognize their contributions with these expanded roles, as we continue to reorient our company around our targeted streaming services and delivering our high-quality original content to viewers on an expanding array of platforms.”

AMC Networks said it launched AMC Plus on YouTube TV Tuesday, adding to a list of distributors for the premium subscription bundle that includes Comcast, AT&T/DirecTV, Dish Network, Amazon, Apple TV and Roku.

AMC Plus debuted in June with carriage on Comcast and offers new and library content across the company’s networks including all seven seasons of Mad Men, as well as Hell on Wheels, NOS4A2, The Little Drummer Girl, McMafia, Rubicon and Dispatches from Elsewhere. across AMC Network properties including  AMC, BBC America, Shudder, WeTV,  IFC and others. 

In addition to original programming, the subscription service offers network and SVOD content from AMC (including current series from AMC and BBC America, IFC and Sundance anytime) Shudder (original and classic horror uncut and commercial free); IFC Film Unlimited (theatrically released and award-winning titles from IFC Film); Sundance Now (original and exclusive series) and the AMC Plus linear premium channel. AMC Plus will be an add-on to the standard YouTube TV subscription and priced at about $6.99 per month.   

“We are thrilled to make AMC Plus available to YouTube TV subscribers,” AMC Plus general manager Courtney Thomasma said in a press release. “Especially as we head into April, which is one of the biggest months of the year for Shudder as it marks ‘Halfway to Halloween’ with the return of Creepshow and its huge celebration of horror, thriller and supernatural programming, we know new and existing subscribers will appreciate everything AMC Plus has to offer.”

The first week of November will feature a relatively light schedule of new scripted and reality shows.

Leading the new scripted show premieres is Showtime's Moonbase 8. The series, premiering Nov. 8, stars Fred Armisen and follows several astronauts as they attempt to qualify for their first lunar mission, said the network.

On the unscripted front, WeTV on Nov. 5 premieres the seventh season of its hit series, Braxton Family Values, which continues to follow the exploits of the musical Braxton sisters.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Nov. 2 to Nov. 8 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Nov. 4 -- The A Word (returning series) -- Sundance

Nov. 5 -- Riviera (returning series) -- Sundance Now

Nov. 5 -- Save Me Too (returning series) -- Peacock

Nov. 5 -- Two Weeks to Live (drama/comedy) -- HBO Max

Nov. 7 -- Behind Every Man (reality) -- OWN

Nov. 7 -- Earth’s Great Seasons (documentary) -- BBC America

Nov. 7 -- Gemusetto (animation) -- Adult Swim

The Halloween season is in full swing as several horror-themed content make their debut this week.

Prime Video will debut its original movie Evil Eye on Oct. 13 while Hulu will deliver its Marvel Comics-based series Helstrom (pictured) on Oct. 16.

Also on the docket this week is the Oct. 15 debut of the third season of CBS All Access drama series Star Trek: Discovery.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Oct. 12 to Oct. 18 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Oct. 12 -- Mystery Road (drama) -- Acorn TV

Oct. 15 -- Des (miniseries) -- Sundance Now

Oct. 15 -- Lennox Lewis: The Untold Story (documentary) -- Crackle

Oct. 15 -- Social Distance (drama) -- Netflix

Oct. 16 -- Grand Army (drama) -- Netflix

Oct. 16 -- The Trial of the Chicago 7 (movie) -- Netflix

Oct. 17 --David Byrne’s American Utopia (documentary) -- HBO

 The week leading into Labor Day features several high-profile launches as streaming services and cable networks gear up for the new television season.

Starz on Sept. 6 will debut its anticipated drama series Power Book II: Ghost (pictured) -- the first of four spinoffs from its hit series Power -- while Peacock on Sept. 4 debuts a new drama series Noughts + Crosses, based on an alternative world in which Africa has colonized Europe and controls its citizens. 

Sci-fi also takes center stage on Sept. 4 with the return of Prime Video’s superhero-themed series The Boys and Netflix’s Mars-themed series Away.  Also HBO Max on Sept. 3 debuts its fantasy-themed series Raised by Wolves.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 7 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Sept. 2 -- Tyler Perry’s House of Payne & Assisted Living (comedy) -- BET

Sept. 3 -- A.P. Bio (comedy) -- Peacock

Sept. 3 -- The Sounds (drama) -- Acorn TV

Sept. 3 -- Young Wallander (drama) -- Netflix

Sept. 4 -- Anthony (drama movie) -- Peacock

Sept. 4 -- Earth to Ned (talk) -- Disney Plus

Sept. 7 -- Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne (reality) --A&E

Sept. 7 -- Madagascar: A Little Wild (animation) -- Hulu/Peacock

Streaming service Peacock headlines this week’s new show debuts with the launch of several new original series.

The NBCUniversal-owned Peacock service, which debuts July 15 and will be offered in limited free-to-consumer AVOD and premium $5-a-month subscription iterations, will premiere with such original shows as Brave New World, a sci-fi thriller which follows the travails of a future Utopian society; The Capture (pictured), a conspiracy thriller that looks at a troubling world of fake news, and Intelligence, a comedy in which a maverick American NSA agent and a junior analyst team to thwart a workplace power struggle, said the company.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several other shows debuting the week of July 13 to July 19  on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

July 13 -- The Nest (drama) -- Acorn TV

July 14 -- Showbiz Kids (documentary) -- HBO

July 16 -- Fatal Affair (drama) -- Netflix

July 16 -- The Secrets She Keeps (drama) -- Sundance Now

July 17 -- Absentia (returning series) -- Prime Video

July 17 -- Cursed (drama) -- Netflix

July 17 -- Into the Dark: The Current Occupant (horror) -- Hulu

July 17 -- The Sims Spark’d (reality) -- TBS

July 19 -- The Alienist: Angel of Darkness (returning series) -- TNT 

AMC Networks’ streaming service Sundance Now acquired the U.S. rights to The Secrets She Keeps, a six-part drama from Australia.

The Secrets She Keeps, a Lingo Pictures production, stars Laura Carmichael, Jessica de Gouw and Michael Dorman and will premiere on Sundance Now during the summer.

"Sundance Now is excited to work with our friends at DCD Rights on another high-quality drama series. With its suspenseful, dark and twisty script and a stellar cast led by Laura Carmichael and Jessica de Gouw, The Secrets She Keeps is sure to be another can’t-miss drama for our subscribers,” said Shannon Cooper, VP of programming for Sundance Now.

The series is based on a novel by Michael Robotham. It features two pregnant women from different economic circumstances whose worlds collide as they try to keep their secrets.

“The combination of a stellar creative team, outstanding performances from leading talent and a truthful adaptation of a bestselling novel, has led to the exceptional drama that is The Secrets She Keeps,” said Nicky Davies Williams, CEO of DCD Rights. “We are extremely proud that the series will get the US exposure it deserves through Sundance Now and know that it won’t disappoint US audiences.

The Secrets She Keeps is a Lingo Pictures Production for Network Ten with production funding from Screen Australia in association with Create NSW.

“Sundance Now has some of the best curated content in the US, so we are thrilled that North American audiences will soon be able to watch the series on such a respected platform,” said Helen Boden of Lingo Pictures. “This is a universal story so I’m delighted that it will screen in the US as well as in the UK, France, Australia and other major territories. It’s a show we’re very proud of.”

Sundance Now is available on most streaming devices for $6.99 a month, or $4.99 a month with an annual subscription.

Paramount Network’s drama series Yellowstone returns for its sophomore campaign and OWN’s drama series Ambitions debuts over the next week.

Heading the list of scripted series premiering this week is drama series Ambitions, starring Robin Givens (pictured) and debuting on June 18.

Yellowstone, which stars Kevin Costner as a ranch owner who is in constant conflict with those he borders, kicks off its second season on June 19. Also returning for its sophomore campaign on June 20 is Sundance Now’s drama series Riviera.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services:

June 17 -- Das Boot (drama series) -- Hulu

June 18 -- Alternatino With Arturo Castro (sketch comedy series) -- Comedy Central

June 18 -- The Detour (returning series) -- TBS

June 18 -- Drunk History (returning series) -- Comedy Central

June 18 -- Good Trouble (returning series) -- Freeform

June 19 -- Beats (movie) -- Netflix

June 21 -- The Bravest Knight -- (animation series) -- Hulu

June 21 -- Mr. Iglesias (comedy series) -- Netflix

AMC Networks will bring its Shudder and Sundance Now digital streaming series A Discovery Of Witches to television with the horror show’s April 7 premiere on BBC America and AMC, the network said Saturday.

A Season of Witches will run over eight weeks on both cable networks beginning April 7, the network announced during the Television Critics Association winter press tour presentation.

The series, set in a world where witches, vampires and demons secretly live and work alongside humans, has set Sundance Now records for total video plays, and in its first week on the site accounted for more than half of all streaming activity on the platform, according to the service.

“Thanks to the critical acclaim and overwhelmingly positive audience response to A Discovery of Witches, the series has found a new legion of fans. We are thrilled to bring it to a wider audience and pair it with Killing Eve on both AMC and BBC America,” said Sarah Barnett, President of AMC Entertainment Networks in a statement. “This is a great example of our cross-network strategy; to expose our series to new audiences across our ecosystem of networks and streaming services.”

In other streaming news, Shudder announced it has begun production on its first long-form series, Creepshow, based on the iconic 1982 anthology film written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero.

The six-episode season will be executive produced by Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead), according to the streaming service.

Season Four of The Carbonaro Effect starts on truTV May 17, with master prankster Michael Carbonaro offering a fresh batch of tricks and stunts. “The show runs the gamut from completely silly,” Carbonaro said, “to making someone believe we transport through time.”

Indeed, one stunt, shot at the Chicago History Museum, employs a large machine that Carbonaro described as a “revamped Tesla coil” for time travel. An electrician plugs it in, then “vaporizes into thin air,” Carbonaro said. The electrician then turns up in an old newspaper story about the coil, posted next to it.

Carbonaro described the trick as “a full-on cinematic story we crammed into two and a half minutes.”

Another one: A man helps Carbonaro pack up stuff in a barn that Carbonaro’s family once owned. As the man packs, a random guy turns up to chat, then disappears, leaving a scarecrow in his wake. Carbonaro then shows the man a photograph of his grandfather — the same fellow that showed up in the barn for a chat a moment before.

“The show teeters the line between comedy and The Twilight Zone,” Carbonaro said.

He counts among his influences Steven Spielberg and David Copperfield. Carbonaro mentions presenting Copperfield with a Magician of the Decade award recently. “It was a chance for me to tell David how he shaped my creative magic forces,” Carbonaro said.

Dark comedy Motherland, from Sharon Horgan, has started on streaming service Sundance Now. Horgan is the star and creator of Amazon’s lethally funny Catastrophe, and executive produces HBO’s Divorce as well.

Motherland is about what stay-at-home moms do when the rest of the planet’s inhabitants go off to work or school. Graham and Helen Linehan wanted to write about “that particular time of day when the only people around are generally moms,” Horgan said. “It’s how you survive that kind of situation, the tribe you form to get you through it in one piece.”

Anna Maxwell Martin stars. What stands out about Motherland, besides Maxwell Martin’s frantic performance and its mix of anxiety and humor? “I don’t feel like there’s much on TV that shows friendship of women that particular age,” Horgan said. “And we’re quite prepared to show mothers f---ing up.”

The show has performed way better than expected on the BBC, said Horgan, prompting moms to ask each other what kind of mother they are — a Liz (chaotic, but gets the job done) or a Julia (total spaz)?

Horgan is the mother of a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old. Is she a Liz or a Julia? “I want to be a Liz,” she said. “But I’m probably more of a Julia.”