AMC has renewed “Making of the Mob” for Season 2 and ordered “The West” straight to series, the cable channel said Friday during its Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour presentation.
“The West” (working title) is executive produced by Stephen David Entertainment in association with Robert Redford’s Sundance Productions. Eight one-hour episodes will premiere in summer 2016; production is set to begin in early August.
The limited-run series will take viewers into the violent world of cowboys, Indians, outlaws and lawmen to chronicle the intimate, little-known stories of Western legends such as Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, according to AMC’s description.
Spanning the years 1865 to 1890, the series will show how, in the aftermath of the Civil War, the opportunity of land transformed the United States into the “land of opportunity” and created modern America. “The West” will also feature interviews with James Caan, Tom Selleck, Kiefer Sutherland and Ed Harris.
“Making of the Mob” also hails from Stephen David Entertainment and will have an eight-episode run of its own. The second season will premiere in 2016 and focus on the Chicago crime syndicate, which famously included Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel.
“Whether it was ‘Broken Trail,’ new episodes of ‘Hell on Wheels’ or a Saturday movie event, at AMC we love the Western, and we can’t wait to expand our commitment to it with Robert Redford by our side,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC and SundanceTV.
“We’re looking forward to sharing untold stories of ‘The West’ as we work closely with Sundance Productions and Stephen David Entertainment, whose unique docudrama style of storytelling has already resonated with AMC viewers through ‘The Making of The Mob.’ And, of course, we are proud to be extending that series for another season, as we move to the Midwest to tell the story of Al Capone and the Chicago Mob.”
“We are pleased to partner with Stephen David and AMC for the production of ‘The West,’ which will transport audiences back to the days of the Wild West to meet the famous outlaws and lawmen that shaped American history and culture,” added Redford. “This series is an opportunity to revisit an era of memorable events that were part of making the United States what it is today.”
“We’ve had an amazing experience with AMC on ‘The Making of the Mob: New York’ and to get to explore a second season focusing on Al Capone and Chicago is a dream,” said Stephen David, president of Stephen David Entertainment. “In addition, we are extremely excited to get a chance to partner with AMC, Laura Michalchyshyn and Robert Redford on ‘The West.’ It’s a 25-year period after the Civil War that’s filled with iconic names, all connected through a larger story that’s never been told before in this way.”
“The West” is executive produced by David, as well as Redford and Laura Michalchyshyn of Sundance.
Overseeing “The Making of The Mob: Chicago” and “The West” from AMC are Eliot Goldberg, senior vice president of non-fiction and alternative programming, and Marco Bresaz, vice president of non-fiction and alternative programming. DRG is the international distributor for “The West.”