'The Walking Dead' Creator Robert Kirkman Is Leaving AMC for Amazon
This has to bite for AMC.
In what "The Walking Dead" comic book creator and TV series executive producer Robert Kirkman and his entertainment company Skybound Entertainment are exiting their overall deal with AMC "in favor of what is said to be a sizable two-year overall deal with Amazon Studios." (Kirkman has been working with AMC since TWD premiered in 2010. AMC had signed Kirkman to "a rich, multiyear deal" in 2015.)
That doesn't mean "The Walking Dead" or "Fear the Walking Dead," which Kirkman co-created, are moving from AMC to Amazon. They are staying put. But it does mean that Kirkman will be developing future projects exclusively for Amazon Prime Video, which will have a first-look deal with Skybound Entertainment.
In a statement, Kirkman referenced Sharon Tal Yguado, Amazon's new head of event series, who focuses on genre work like sci-fi, action, fantasy and horror. As THR noted, she was the head of Fox International Channels, and supervised the rollout of "The Walking Dead" and developed Kirkman's "Outcast" comic for TV before it was published. So this Amazon move marks a reunion for Tal Yguado, Kirkman, and his Skybound partner, fellow TWD exec producer David Alpert.
Robert Kirkman: "At Skybound Entertainment we strive to tell the best stories in the most unique and creative ways in an effort to always break new ground. A forward-thinking company like Amazon is the perfect home for us. Their new foray into genre fiction has us at peak optimism for what can be accomplished during this unprecedented partnership. Sharon Tal Yguado has been an instrumental force in the success of Walking Dead and Outcast from Day 1. Being able to not only continue that relationship, but also expand it into new territory with the vast resources of Amazon, means great things are ahead for myself, David Alpert, Skybound and fans of awesome entertainment. Look out world, here we come!"
We look forward to seeing that Kirkman, Alpert, and Skybound produce for Amazon. Meanwhile, "The Walking Dead" franchise is still chugging along at AMC, with Season 8 of the flagship show premiering Sunday, Oct. 22.
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