Originally Posted by theonlyweeman:
“AMC nearly lost Better Call Saul to Netflix, when the producers were somewhat offended by the pilot deal they were offered. Reportedly Netflix got wind of this, quietly slipped a straight to series offer to Sony, and AMC then panicked that they might lose the show and upped it's deal to a series commitment as a result.
I think AMC might have given BCS an early renewal, partly because it was a fairly safe bet, and partly to stave off any further takeover attempts.
Having lost or being about to lose Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Hell on Wheels got rid of a lot of their big hitters, and their new stuff hasn't really struck the same chords, so I'm wondering if AMC are little concerned about their slate at the moment, which would explain the two season TWD spin-off order.”
AMC could just have The Walking Dead and still be hugely successful as it's showing no signs of slowing. They've started owning their original shows like TWD, Hell on Wheels etc in order to avoid paying expensive licensing from studios like Lionsgate and Sony. The companion show allows them to expand the franchise just as CBS does with CSI and NCIS.
AMC are some interesting stuff coming like Humans which is a co-production with Channel 4, The Night Manager which is a co-production with the BBC and is a miniseries plus Badlands which is a kung-fu series. I do think they should use The Walking Dead as a lead in for a new original series rather than waste it on Talking Dead. They have Preacher in development as well as Thief of Thieves, the latter which is from the creator of The Walking Dead.