Entertainment One Television (eOne) concluded a deal with FOX International Channels (FIC) in Australia to acquire the pay television, extended and basic cable and free television rights for the critically-acclaimed series, THE WALKING DEAD. Starring Andrew Lincoln, the record-breaking series tells the story of the weeks and months that follow a pandemic zombie apocalypse. Season 2 will start production this summer in Atlanta, GA.
AMC and Fox International Channels launched the ground-breaking drama series THE WALKING DEAD globally last fall, achieving stellar performance numbers worldwide and resulting in a Season 2 renewal by the second episode. The show’s December 5 finale pulled in an astonishing 4.1 HH rating with more than 6 million total viewers in the US. Most recently, Channel 5 in the UK made its debut with 1.4 million viewers, an 8.2% share.
THE WALKING DEAD is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. Kirkman serves as an executive producer on the project and three-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) serves as writer, director and executive producer. The series is led by a cast that includes Lincoln (Teachers, Love Actually) as Rick Grimes, Jon Bernthal (The Pacific, The Ghost Writer) as Shane Walsh, Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break) as Lori Grimes, Laurie Holden (The Shield, Stephen King’s The Mist) as Andrea, Jeffrey DeMunn (Stephen King’s The Mist, The Green Mile) as Dale, Steven Yeun (The Big Bang Theory) as Glen, Emma Bell (The Bedford Diaries) as Amy and Chandler Riggs (Get Low) as Carl Grimes.
While at MIPTV, eOne also sold to Sundance Channel (second window) in France and TET in Ukraine. In addition to eOne releasing through its own DVD label in the U.K., Ireland, Benelux, France, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the indie studio also sold the DVD rights to Avalon (Spain), Movieinspired (Italy), Kadokawa (Japan), Viva Entertainment (Middle East) and Odeon (Greece). The international rollout is set to begin in the next few weeks.
eOne is partnered with Fox International Channels to sell all Television, Digital and DVD rights outside of North America.
