AMC orders The West and a second season of The Making of the Mob
AMC today announced from the Television Critics’ Association (TCA) Press Tour that it has placed a straight-to-series order for “The West” (working title), a docudrama executive produced by Emmy Award-winning Stephen David Entertainment (“The World Wars,” “The Men Who Built America”) in association with Robert Redford’s Sundance Productions. The network has ordered eight one-hour episodes to premiere in summer 2016, alongside the final seven episodes of Western drama Hell on Wheels. Production on “The West” will begin in early August.
Through Stephen David Entertainment’s unique blend of dramatic scenes, documentary footage and visual effects, “The West” will transport viewers into the violent world of cowboys, Indians, outlaws and law men and chronicle the intimate, little-known stories of Western legends such as Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Spanning the years 1865 to 1890, the limited event series will show how, in the aftermath of the Civil War, the opportunity of land transforms the United States into the “land of opportunity” and creates modern America. “The West” will also feature exclusive interviews with notable names from classic Western films, including James Caan, Tom Selleck, Kiefer Sutherland, Ed Harris and more.
In addition, AMC announced today that “The Making of The Mob,” also executive produced by Stephen David Entertainment, has been renewed for a second season of eight episodes. “The Making of The Mob: Chicago” will premiere in 2016 and document the emergence of organized crime in Middle America through the rise and fall of iconic gangster Al Capone. From Capone’s early days in New York running the streets with Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel, to his prolonged war with the Irish gangs of Chicago and his final battles with Eliot Ness and law enforcement, “The Making of the Mob: Chicago” will tell the true and full story of the Chicago underworld.
“Whether it was ‘Broken Trail,’ new episodes of ‘Hell on Wheels’ or a Saturday movie event, at AMC we love the Western, and we can’t wait to expand our commitment to it with Robert Redford by our side,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC and SundanceTV. “We’re looking forward to sharing untold stories of ‘The West’ as we work closely with Sundance Productions and Stephen David Entertainment, whose unique docudrama style of storytelling has already resonated with AMC viewers through ‘The Making of The Mob.’ And, of course, we are proud to be extending that series for another season, as we move to the Midwest to tell the story of Al Capone and the Chicago Mob.”
“We are pleased to partner with Stephen David and AMC for the production of ‘The West,’ which will transport audiences back to the days of the Wild West to meet the famous outlaws and lawmen that shaped American history and culture,” said executive producer Robert Redford. “This series is an opportunity to revisit an era of memorable events that were part of making the United States what it is today.”
“We’ve had an amazing experience with AMC on ‘The Making of the Mob: New York’ and to get to explore a second season focusing on Al Capone and Chicago is a dream,” said Stephen David, president of Stephen David Entertainment. “In addition, we are extremely excited to get a chance to partner with AMC, Laura Michalchyshyn and Robert Redford on ‘The West.’ It’s a 25-year period after the Civil War that’s filled with iconic names, all connected through a larger story that’s never been told before in this way.”
“The West” is executive produced by Stephen David, and Robert Redford and Laura Michalchyshyn with Sundance Productions. Overseeing “The Making of The Mob: Chicago” and “The West” from AMC are Eliot Goldberg, senior vice president of non-fiction and alternative programming, and Marco Bresaz, vice president of non-fiction and alternative programming. DRG is the international distributor for “The West.”
