AMC Orders Drama Pilots From 'Breaking Bad,' 'Nikita' Producers

AMC has doubled the number of drama pilots in its development pipeline.

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AMC Gives Pilot Orders to Two Scripted Dramas

The cable network on Tuesday ordered 1980s tech effort Halt & Catch Fire as well as period spy piece Turn to pilot.

Halt & Catch Fire is created by Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers, with Breaking Bad's Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein on board to executive produce. Set in the early '80s, the drama revolves around the personal computing boom and is told through the eyes of a visionary and an engineer and prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their partnership will be challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie. The effort hails from AMC Studios and Gran Via Productions.

Turn, based on Alexander Rose's book Washington's Spies, hails from Nikita's Craig Silverstein and is executive produced by Barry Josephson. Set during the summer of 1778, the drama centers on a New York farmer named Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form the Culper Ring, a group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence. Also from AMC Studios, Silverstein will pen the project with Josephson exec producing via his Josephson Entertainment. 

Halt & Catch Fire and Turn join the previously announced Low Winter Sun and the untitled Richard LaGravenese-Tony Goldwyn project at the cable network.

“These additional pilot orders demonstrate AMC's investment in our original scripted programming,” said Susie Fitzgerald, AMC senior vp scripted development and current programming. “Both of these projects take the audience into unique worlds through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be working with such exceptional talent on both of these projects.”

AMC exec vp original programming, production and digital content Joel Stillerman, Fitzgerald and senior vp production Jason Fisher will oversee the development and production on both projects. 

The network, home to dramas The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, the last of which is nearing the end of its run, has several other projects in its development pipeline. Among them are an adaptation of Robert Kirkman's latest comic Thief of Thieves, Area 51 from Walking Dead's Gale Anne Hurd, football drama The Real All Americans, a potential Goodfellas series and a diamond drama from Ridley Scott, among others.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit