Upfronts 2025: AMC Networks Thinks It’s Time For A Depression Era Drama
AMC’s rock star vampire (phot courtesy of AMC Networks
A week after the biggest stock market drop in a generation might not be the most auspicious time for a cable network company to stage an upfront presentation. On the other hand, there might not be an occasion where top-notch entertainment is more needed.
On Wednesday, AMC Networks will present its programming plans to advertisers and media buyers. Best known for popular hits like Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, AMC plans to take more big swings. It will announce a new anthology show Great American Stories, which will first focus on bringing John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath to TV, a suddenly timely tale about economic depression and oppressed migrant worker.
AMC is also offering a “backstage pass” sponsorship package as Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire returns for Season 3 in 2026. Since Lestat becomes a rock star this season, opportunities include first look “soundchecks” of the new season, shoppable co-branded consumer products in a Rock Shop merch store, and in-world integrated content. Production of season three is ramping up now and continuing through the summer.
Other shows coming to AMC networks include Allie & Andi, a crime drama starring Brooke Shields that will appear on Acorn TV. Also coming to Acorn TV is Irish Blood, starring Alicia Silverstone.
Another new show is Guts & Glory, a six-episode, horror-based competition series created with Walking Dead special effects artist and executive producer Greg Nicotero. Guts & Glory will debut later this year on Shudder and AMC+
The network will be marking the 15th anniversary of the launch of The Walking Dead, one of the most successful series in TV history and the foundation of a sprawling franchise..
AMC will also be expanding its Halloween FearFest franchise with a partnership with the Sphere in Las Vegas (which like AMC is controlled by the Dolan family).
AMC says it will be launching an ad-supported version of its streaming service Shudder as well as a free ad-supported television (FAST) channel called Acorn Mysteries, based on content from its commercial-free streaming service Acorn TV
Despite cord-cutting, which has reduced the number of cable subscribers and driven media buyers into the uncharted waters of CTV, AMC Chief Commercial Officer Kim Kelleher told TVRev that advertisers are still buying cable.
Nonetheless, she notes that it’s been a good idea that AMC has launched a number of its own streaming services and FAST channels to be able to sell an increasing amount if digital video ad inventory.
“Everything we’re building is cross-platform and it’s about reaching the audiences wherever they’re actually engaging with our content,” Kelleher said. “We’ll continue to add more every single year.”
On the AMC Networks’ fourth-quarter earnings call, the company announced that ad revenue was down 11% for the year and 12% for the quarter. But the company said that digital advertising revenue was growing at a double-digit rate and represented about a quarter of overall domestic ad revenue.
Kelleher says there is still demand for quality shows. ”That’s why I think it’s very important we go back to really showcasing the programming. That is a differentiator. We are a studio-programer. We make a large number of our shows. They’re very, very good and that’s what continues to set us apart.”
AMC started its upfront effort in February when it met with advertisers and media buyers in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to talk about its ad-tech and its new outcomes-based offering.
“We realized that the talk around ad tech innovation and how we’re approaching the marketplace was taking up more and more air time in this big event, and the program was getting very long and less programming focused," said Kelleher. “So our goal is to really get everyone very excited about the programming.”
The early ad-tech meetings “gave us the opportunity to really explain the tech and the story. We also had a lot of feedback. There’s been ongoing momentum since then. I feel like it’s given us permission to really kick off early conversations,” she said.
Evan Adlman, AMC executive VP for commercial sales and revenue operations, said the new Outcomes offering was well received among advertisers, even before upfront negotiations begin in earnest.
“We have a handful of clients that are in the process of activating against it,” Adlman said. “We’ve also added other data partners like PlaceIQ and location data was added to the outcomes product. AMC will also be adding pharmaceutical and other data to the product going forward.
He said the AMCN Outcomes is “going to be a big part of what advertisers use when they activate with us in this upfront. We’re including it in every single Audience+ campaign that a client does with us.”
Back to the programming.
AMC said its Grapes of Wrath will have its day-date premiere across its paid subscription services and cable. It will roll out later across its free streaming platforms. Will it stream on Netflix, where other AMC shows have had their popularity boosted by the Netflix effect? “We’ll talk about that after it premieres,” Kelleher said.
The story is being adapted for TV by Rolin Jones, who has worked on Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. Jones will be working with Mark Johnson, who has produced many of AMC’s hits.
Allie & Andi is a six-episode murder mystery series set in a quaint New England town It follows a best-selling novelist–played by Brooke Shields– who forms an unlikely alliance with an aspiring writer to find the killer of a close friend. The series will go into production this fall and air in 2026, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Irish Blood, starring Alicia Silverstone, will debut in May, timed to the launch of the new Acorn TV Mysteries channel as part of a month-long programming event. Advertisers can work with AMC’s Content Room unit to develop custom content around the event, called Murder Mystery May.
For Halloween, AMC is working with Sphere on a co-branded advertiser promotion that features exposure across FearFest, Shudder, and Sphere’s annual “Sphere of Fear” Exosphere show. AMC is looking for four sponsors, each of whom will get a one-week campaign
Sponsors receive AMC FearFest assets and Exosphere exposure, and coverage of the branded Exosphere activations will appear on AMC Networks’ linear, streaming, digital and social platforms.
FearFest HalloQUEEN Janelle Monáe will host the celebration with new content wrapping linear, streaming and social feeds each week.
Shudder will be marking its 10th anniversary. There will be Shudder10 festivities all year long and advertisers are invited to the party with custom content and live activations.
Shudder’s new ad tier will feature a light commercial load, the company said. Opportunities for sponsors include custom curated swimlanes, premium placements across the platform and presenting sponsorships of weekly “Screamieres” every Friday with the premiere of Shudder original horror films.
“The audiences around horror continue to grow and as the genre continues to widen, people are starting to recognize horror is not any one thing. It's not just slasher films. It's anything from anticipation to a jump scare and everything in between,” said Kim Granito, CMO at AMC Networks.
That’s a lot of activity, all of which begs the question of how strong the ad market will be given the current state of economic uncertainty.
Kelleher said she’s been having conversations with advertisers and media buyers.
“Obviously there's the headlines and then there's the reality,” she said. “It's been uncertain times for five years now, and I think that advertisers have a certain amount of resilience to a lot of the uncertainty.”
She said what she’s hearing is similar to last year, with advertisers looking for transparency and flexibility to deal with changing situations.
“They're looking to be able to react in real time,” she said. “And I have to say, what we learned during the pandemic continues to apply, which is, we're in this for the long haul with our partners. So we're looking to work with them, through whatever environment comes our way. None of us have a crystal ball. We're trying to figure this out together.”