The zom-pocalypse endures as AMC commissions a third The Walking Dead drama series, this time following two young fighting females.

The Walking Dead is far from buried with AMC that has officially commissioned another The Walking Dead spin-off with the third, as-yet-unnamed, drama series set in the aftermath of a global zombie apocalypse that will start sometime in 2020 on SundanceTV (DStv 108).

As viewership is waning for The Walking Dead that is still continuing on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) and that is in its 9th season and renewed for a 10th set to start in October, as well as four seasons of Fear the Walking Dead on SundanceTV that will start its 5th season in June, AMC has commissioned a third series that will take place within the same d(r)eadful universe.

"Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever," says AMC.

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead both take place in the months and years after a zombie apocalypse and follow different groups of survivors traveling in search of a safe and secure home.

The new drama series in the franchise will focus on two young female protagonists - the first generation to have grown up after the zombie apocalypse. Production on the first 10-episode season, produced and distributed by AMC Studios, will start during winter.

The new spin-off is co-created by Scott M. Gimple, the chief content officer of The Walking Dead universe, as well as Matt Negrete, who has been a writer and producer on The Walking Dead for the past five seasons and who will be the showrunner of the new series.

"We're thrilled that the Dead will keep walking into a new corner of the post-apocalyptic world, a corner that will present stories and characters unlike any that The Walking Dead has dramatized thus far, and that is bound to excite one of the most passionate fan-bases in television," says David Madden, president of programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, in a statement.

"Scott has been an invaluable leader for this universe since taking on the role of chief content officer, with a distinct and innovative vision for the franchise. Likewise, we're excited to have Matt, who has been a crucial part of The Walking Dead family for over five years and penned many memorable episodes of The Walking Dead, at the helm of this original series."

Sarah Barnett, president of the entertainment networks group for AMC Networks, says "On the heels of an incredible 9th season of The Walking Dead and as we approach an anticipated new season of Fear the Walking Dead on 2 June, this is an exciting moment for the Dead franchise, which continues to thrive in a highly competitive environment".

"We are thankful to be working with some of the best creatives in the business to expand this universe in new and exciting ways for our fans."

Scott M. Gimple says "Showing audiences an unseen pocket of The Walking Dead universe steeped in a new mythology is a very cool way to celebrate a 'Decade of the Dead' on TV and over 15 years of Robert Kirkman's brilliant comic".

"Matt Negrete is one of the best writer-producers in The Walking Dead's long history - I'm thrilled to be working beside him to tell stories unlike we've seen before, taking our first step into an even larger world."

Matt Negrete says "I'm beyond excited to be a part of this new show set in The Walking Dead universe".

"Writing and producing for the original series has been the job of a lifetime and I'm honoured to be working with Scott and all the fine Dead folks at AMC in this new capacity. I can't wait for the fans of the franchise to see what we've been cooking up!"

Actor Andrew Lincoln confirms that he's done with zombie drama, The Walking Dead, after the upcoming 9th season on FOX.

Actor Andrew Lincoln, emotionally confirmed the speculation that started swirling last month that he is done with the zombie drama The Walking Dead after the upcoming 9th season.

At Comic Con 2018 in San Diego during a panel discussion, he said "this will be my last season playing the role of Rick Grimes. I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show. I'm particularly fond of the people who watch this show".

Andrew Lincoln said "I don't want this to become an Oscar acceptance speech or a obituary".

"My relationship with Mister Rick Grimes is far from over." The actor said he is leaving The Walking Dead to spend more time with his family in the United Kingdom.

The 9th season of The Walking Dead with 16 episodes will start on 7 October and will broadcast on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) from 8 October in South Africa and across Africa.

The second half of the 4th season of the spin-off drama series, Fear the Walking Dead will start on 12 August in America with episode 9 and will broadcast on Sundance TV (DStv 108) from Monday 13 August at 21:00.

MultiChoice adds AMC Networks International's SundanceTV channel to DStv for DStv Premium subscribers to replace the lost content of AMC.

MultiChoice is adding the SundanceTV channel from 1 June to DStv as a replacement for the AMC channel, for DStv Premium subscribers.

SundanceTV, from AMC Networks International (AMCNI) that will be in high definition (HD) will continue to show programming like the drama series Fear The Walking Dead and Into the Badlands that would have been lost to South African pay-TV viewers after the AMC channel was dumped last year, and the new Pierce Brosnan Western series, The Son that just started.

SundanceTV is actually a film channel that was launched by film star Robert Redford in 1996, but the version for South Africa on DStv will also carry series, as well as selection of local programming.

"SundanceTV will offer a selection of award winning and locally appealing programming exclusively to audiences in South Africa," says Louise Cottrell, AMCNI UK vice president for affiliate sales in a statement.

"We're excited to launch this premium channel for the first time in South Africa on the DStv platform, which reinforces our long-standing partnership with MultiChoice."

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content says "we've listened to what our customers are saying about our content, and are committed to bring them more fresh content more often and fewer repeats."

"SundanceTV will bring great variety through its high quality art movies and unforgettable series. We're confident our customers will welcome SundanceTV to the DStv family and into their homes."

SundanceTV offers a mix of exclusive festival films and original drama series.

Some of the film festival selections which will be shown on SundanceTV includes the documentary Cries from Syria, which bears witness to the resiliency of the people of Syria in the wake of their exposure to unthinkable crimes against humanity.

I Smile Back is an unflinchingly authentic and humanising portrait of a suburban wife and mother dealing with depression and disillusionment that send her careening into a secret world of reckless compulsion.

The Eyes of My Mother is the debut movie from writer/director Nicolas Pesce and is the tale of Francisca. She grows up in a secluded farmhouse where her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, teaches her to understand anatomy and be unfazed by death. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor horrifyingly shatters the idyll of Francisca’s family life, deeply traumatizing the young girl, but also awakening some unique curiosities.

The Son with Pierce Brosnan will start on 6 June at 21:00.

A rebroadcast of the first two seasons of Fear the Walking Dead will start on 5 June. The third season of Fear the Walking Dead will start on SundanceTV on Monday 24 July at 21:00.

BREAKING. New zombie drama, Fear The Walking Dead, a massive hit for AMC Networks International's AMC on DStv and StarSat.

New zombie drama and The Walking Dead spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead is a massive hit right out of the box for AMC (DStv 140 / StarSat 115) which now has instant must-watch, appointment television on Monday nights.

Fear the Walking Dead which made its monster debut on Sunday night in America on AMC and was shown on Monday morning at 03:10 on AMC in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media's StarSat and again in its regular primetime timeslot of 20:00, logged an astounding 10.1 million viewers in the United States.

The viewership - 6.3 million of them in the desired 18-49 adult demographic - instantly propelled Fear the Walking Dead to the number one drama series premiere in pay-TV history in America which is a new ratings record.

Fear the Walking Dead produced by AMC Studios now holds the record as the most watched series premiere of any TV drama in pay-TV in the United States.

It's also history-making and highly significant for South Africa's TV and pay-TV industry, and here's why.

Although Fear the Walking Dead received barely any marketing and publicity push before its debut in South Africa today, it means that South African viewers are getting a premium brand-new TV drama, which is instantly a primetime hit, virtually simultaneous with the United States, but accessible on several lower-tiered, non-premium satellite pay-TV bouquets.

StarSat subscribers get AMC - and therefore Fear the Walking Dead - included on the StarSat Smart package for R149 per month. DStv subscribers on all packages get access to AMC - down to the cheapest DStv EasyView for R39 per month.

It means that DStv, StarSat and AMC can market and promote the hit zombie drama to virtually the  entire existing pay-TV subscriber base in South Africa.

For AMC, run by AMC Networks International Zone (AMCI Zone), Fear the Walking Dead represents a massive upgrade and and opportunity in South Africa and Africa to elevate the channel's brand and awareness of it.

The channel changed and rebranded from the stale, library title filled MGM channel to AMC only from December 2014 and can now suddenly boast the year's latest biggest TV hit, eclipsing M-Net's Game of Thrones and FOX's Empire.

Fear the Walking Dead gives AMC not just buzzy appointment television in primetime over the next few weeks but dramatically elevates the channel proposition and the AMC brand.

With the new new premium drama hour AMCI Zone which will get the chance to showcase and perhaps expose new viewers to the channel for the first time who might not have channel hopped to AMC before.

Now having a premium, first-run drama express from the United States and the year's biggest pay-TV hit is somewhat ironic for AMC, given that MultiChoice, when it was added as the MGM channel just over a year and a half ago in November 2013, initially didn't want to give the channel to its top-tiered DStv Premium subscribers but soon relented following a public backlash.

MultiChoice said at the time that the repeat filled MGM wasn't intended for DStv Premium subscribers but realised that "Premium customers would like to have the full range of channels available on their package".

Imagine the outcry now if higher-tiered pay-TV subscribers like DStv Premium customers were blocked from seeing and following the start of the latest zombie apocalypse.

"Thank you and congratulations to Robert Kirkman, Dave Erickson, the brilliant executive producers and the entire cast and crew of Fear the Walking Dead," says Charlie Collier, president of AMC in a statement.

"Fear the Walking Dead delivered record-breaking numbers that are all the more special in this era of time-shifted viewing and audience fragmentation."

"To have a companion series to the number one show on television driving communal, urgent viewing, social activity and pop cultural relevance of this magnitude is truly differentiating. Of course none of it is possible without the fans, whose passion leads to these remarkable results," says Charlie Collier.

"It is extremely exciting that we are broadcasting such fresh and interesting shows," says Ian Woodrow, the head of content at StarSat in a statement about Fear the Walking Dead.  "We have a whole new line-up of content with Fear the Walking Dead leading the way."

Fear the Walking Dead is a spin-off prequel set in Los Angeles and will follow the start of the zombie outbreak with a first season of 6 episodes starring Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, Frank Dillane and Ruben Blades.

It will be followed by the 6th season of The Walking Dead starting on 11 October in America and shown very soon after on FOX International Channel's FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131).

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 16 April 2015.

Calls for M-Net's scandal-riddled Big Brother Mzansi to be taken off the air.
Will M-Net and Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) do the right thing and cancel the trashy reality show engulfed by allegations of rape?

The Planet Earth team moving to Netflix for spectacular new series, Our Planet.
Producers to create epic new global series for Netflix to start in 2019, set to raise the bar for natural history programming.

Arrow's Colton Haynes is leaving the show; producers speak and explain.
Character of Roy Harper is driving off into the sunset ... but could be back - the producers love the guy.

Kelly Osbourne "is dead" to Giuliana Rancic.
Why the former best friends on E! Entertainment's (DStv 124) imploded Fashion Police now hate each other. Meanwhile Giuliana Rancic says she is not leaving Fashion Police.

Game of Thrones TV creators know how the show will end.
"It's a real story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end." Meanwhile Michiel Huisman talks about playing Daario in the 5th season.

How The Walking Dead spin-off got its title of Fear The Walking Dead.
Adweek hears from the creators how the new spin-off zombie drama coming to AMC (StarSat 115 / DStv 140) got its title.

Judge Judy's husband talks about their sex life.
Jerry Sheindlin says his judge wife, 72, is great in bed.

National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) greenlights new drama series, Saints & Strangers.
The mini-series of 4 hours which will be shown in 2015 will follow the 101 men, women and children who boarded a ship for the new world of America.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 14 April 2015.

A furious open letter to the SABC and VVM.
SABC and legal firm VVM trashed for sending a SMS to someone who doesn't even have a TV, saying the person is in contravention of the Broadcasting Act and that the person must call them.  "Firstly, if you think I owe you money, you can call me, don't send me a 'please call me'. Especially if I have no clue who you are".


SABC's famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng personally undo changes at Lesedi FM.
It's your non-TV story of the day: Hlaudi Motsoeneng brought his "wrecking ball approach" to the SABC's Sesotho radio station Lesedi FM last week; when he was done he had reversed half of the decisions made by Lesedi FM station manager Puleng Thulo who has immediately been removed.


Britain's Sunday Times TV magazine furious at Sky Atlantic over Game of Thrones.
Sky's Sky Atlantic channel didn't invite Sunday Times TV to the media launch event of Game of Thrones and Sunday Times TV is trashing Sky Atlantic.

The SABC is hunting down its own staff who leaks to the media.
Minister of communications Faith Muthambi tells parliament that the SABC staff investigation over leaks is "currently under way".

Spoilers are coming.
HBO is investigating the leak which saw the first 4 episodes of the new 5th season of Game of Thrones end up online and downloaded thousands of times already on torrent sites.
Vanity Fair looks at why the ending of the first episode of the new season is different than in the books. Esquire tells how it was filming that final fiery scene.
Creator George R.R. Martin talks about that flashback scene right at the beginning of the new season.
Some people held their phones in front of their TV's and streamed Game of Thrones as its shown on their TV sets over social media through their cellphones.
And a cool story: A bit of an explanation for what the opening sequence of Game of Thrones really is and illustrates.


BCCSA receives official complaint over SABC News' Eben Jansen.
An official complaint has been received by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) after last week's shocking outburst and rude on-air behaviour of the SABC News (DStv 404) anchor Eben Jansen who has been taken off the SABC air indefinitely.


Musicians out in the cold after M-Net and MultiChoice shut down Channel O.
Artists - especially in East African - now wonder what's next?

China's StarTimes is starting to wrestle away exclusive sport content from MultiChoice's DStv.
The broadcasting of some motorsport, boxing and Germany's Bundesliga soccer is going to StarTimes' satellite pay-TV platform.

No double-barrel dismounts in the unisex toilets. Bygones.
The cast of Ally McBeal (including the Biscuit) reunite at The TV Land Awards to receive the Groundbreaking Award.

The Walking Dead spin-off, Fear The Walking Dead, is going to start on AMC (DStv 140 / StarSat 115) 24-hours after America.
South African viewers will see episodes later this year very quickly after America on "AMC Global" as AMC actually refers to the AMC channel seen in DStv and StarSat in South Africa.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 28 March 2015.

The new The Walking Dead spin-off will be called Fear The Walking Dead.
Fear The Walking Dead will be seen in South Africa and Africa on MultiChoice's DStv and on On Digital  Media's (ODM) StarSat on the AMC channel who will have the spin-off zombie drama.

Top Gear producer will not press charges against Jeremy Clarkson.
Oisin Tymon will not make a case against the fired presenter of Top Gear on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) after the violent attack which saw the BBC sack Jeremy Clarkson.

Does the SABC fall under the Companies Act?
The SABC as a public broadcaster falls under the Broadcasting Act. Yet the minister of communications Faith Muthambi says the SABC falls under the Companies Act which is used as the excuse for her and the SABC board to purge and get rid of SABC board members at will.

The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to intervene over DStv price hikes.
As anger continues over MultiChoice's increase from April for DStv subscriptions, the NBC says it had received several complaints DStv subscribers in Nigeria.

David Duchovny is nervous about the return of The X-Files.
Says "I'm amazed that there's still an appetite for it and I'm touched".


Fired SABC board member Rachel Kalidass says its unlawful.
After Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi were both dumped from the SABC board on Thursday, Rachel Kalidass says "the removals are motivated by malice and it is a purge" and that the Companies Act is wrongly used to get rid of SABC board members.
The unstable SABC board has now lost 6 members since the middle of 2014.


Disney Junior (DStv 30X) is making Fancy Nancy a TV show.
The children's book seeries about a girl who always dresses up is becoming a TV series.

Masi Oka will be back for Heroes: Reborn.
The Hawaii Five-0 star will be back in the miniseries reboot of Heroes.

Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes talks The Gilded Age.
After the announcement that Downton Abbey is done after 6 seasons, the creator and writer says the new period drama for American television is "looming large in my future".

New season of Sherlock "frightening".
The 4th season of the British Sherlock on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) is "frightening, tough" and filled "with emotional upheaval".

The upcoming Killing Jesus on National Geographic Channel is shallow.
The Boston Globe says Killing Jesus which will be shown in South Africa on National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) on Sunday 5 April at 19:10 is "lackluster" and is "terribly overbaked".

Empire is the first black TV drama that isn't being "ghettoized".
The hit drama on FOX's (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) idea's about race "operate at a higher idea of difficulty".