Epix is in development on second seasons for its original series Chapelwaite and Domina and has greenlit a new documentary series Women Who Rock as part of a robust list of new and returning series announced Thursday (February 3) at the premium programmer's TCA Winter Press Tour virtual presentation.
The premium service said it is developing a second season of Chapelwaite, based on Stephen King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot, which chronicles a family’s battle with an ancient and persistent evil. Also in development is a second season of Domina, which chronicles the struggle for control of the Roman Empire in the wake of Caesar’s death from a rare female perspective.
New series include Women Who Rock, a four-part docuseries that pays homage to the legion of female pioneers in music; and The Making of a Haunting: The Amityville Murders, a four-part docuseries based on what the network says is the world’s most famous scary story, The Amityville Horror.
On the sports front, the network will bring back its docuseries NFL Icons, which will profile pro football’s icons and Hall of Fame players, coaches and changemakers. Season two will feature profiles of Walter Payton, Troy Aikman, Jimmy Johnson and Cris Carter.
The announcement of Epix’s new and returning shows comes on the heels of the network’s February 20 debut of horror series From, the April 24 premiere of Billy the Kid and the third-season renewal of Godfather of Harlem.
“I am incredibly proud of the premium programming that Epix continues to produce,” Epix president Michael Wright said. “Women Who Rock, The Amityville Murders and and the second season of NFL Icons follow in the footsteps of acclaimed docuseries like Laurel Canyon, Punk and Mr. A and Mr. M: The History of A&M Records, and they exemplify our brand promise to make prestigious and thought-provoking programming with the best storytellers in the industry.”
Epix’s development slate, along with network-provided show descriptions, includes:
Hotel Cocaine
Blue skies and bikinis. Sex and sand. Bullets and blow. This is the story of Roman Compte, Cuban exile, CIA operative and general manager of the Hotel Mutiny, the glamorous epicenter of the late '70s, early '80s Miami cocaine scene. The Hotel Mutiny was Casablanca on cocaine, a glitzy nightclub, restaurant, and hotel frequented by Florida businessmen and politicians, international narcos, CIA and FBI agents, models, sports stars and musicians — particularly the up-and-coming Latin acts who came from South America with their instruments and four kilos of cocaine in their suitcases, and Compte was at the center, doing his best to keep it all going and fulfill his own American Dream. Epix Studios is developing, with Chris Brancato (Narcos, Godfather of Harlem) attached as writer/executive producer.
Black Harvest
Paris, 1952: A popular and provocative Black American author and his equally-talented but as-yet-unpublished girlfriend arrive with plans to attend the Pan African conference and to get a break from American racism, only to find themselves in the middle of a series of abductions and murders of black men. What at first appear to be casualties of the drug-drenched underground jazz scene end up being a part of something much larger with potentially global consequences in this stylish noir. Epix Studios is developing, with Carl Franklin and Ben Donald attached as executive producers.
American Classic
In this half-hour comedy, Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean (Kevin Kline) suffers a spectacular public meltdown, and returns to his tiny hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that his father, the former artistic director has slipped into a puppet-filled dementia, and that the once-respected theater run by his brother (Jon Tenney) and his wife (now the town’s mayor) has become, by necessity, a low-rent dinner theater serving roast beef and murder mysteries. He decides to save the town, the theater and the world by presenting a great American classic on the dinner theater stage, directed by and starring, of course, himself. Michael Hoffman, Bob Martin, Leslie Urdang, Kevin Kline, Anthony Bregman and Miriam Mintz are attached as executive producers. American Classic is being developed as a co-production between Epix Studios and Anonymous Content’s AC Studios.
Condor Season Three
Settled into his role as a CIA case officer abroad, Joe Turner has become a foot soldier in the Agency’s Cold War against China for Africa’s substantial natural resources. But when conflict erupts in his own little corner of the continent, Joe has to prevent the proxy war from turning into World War III, even at the cost of what’s left of his soul. Condor season two was executive-produced by Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg, Andrew McCarthy, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bill Bost, Shane Elrod and Brian Walsh, John Weber and Frank Siracusa. The series is a co-production by lead studios MGM Television and Skydance Television, in association with Paramount Television.
Tails of a London Dog-Walker
A half-hour comedy-drama based on the memoir London’s Number One Dog Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall. Amélie meets Bridget Jones by way of New Girl … with dogs. We follow Kate, dog-walker extraordinaire, through her magical world of perfect (and not so perfect) pooches and disastrous dates, all the while discovering who she really is. Ella Greenhill, Emma Frost, Matthew Graham and Anne Thomopoulos will serve as executive producers, with MacDougall as associate producer. Frost and Graham’s U.K.-based independent production company Watford & Essex, a joint venture with Legendary Entertainment, will produce in association with Epix Studios.
Sessions
The docuseries music fans have long been waiting for — a definitive portrait of the artist from the artists’ perspective, examining their story in their own words and songs. Combining the most effective and evocative aspects of such shows as MTV Unplugged, Austin City Limits and Behind the Music, Sessions will provide a front-row seat to an amazing concert. This four-part series will also weave behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and archival material transporting us back and forth in time, experiencing the artists’ careers then and now, capturing their continued relevance and the indelible mark they have made on global culture. Sutter Road Picture Company, in association with The Kennedy/Marshall Company, is attached as the production company, as are Frank Marshall (Laurel Canyon, Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records), Guss Wenner and Jason Fine (Rolling Stone), and Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon) as executive producers. Alison Ellwood is also attached to direct.
Hollywood Black
Based on the book by historian Donald Bogle, this four-part docuseries will be the definitive chronicle and re-examination of a century of the black experience in Hollywood. From blackface to Black Power, we’ll tell the epic story of the actors, writers, directors and producers who fought for their place on the screen. This groundbreaking series on Black Hollywood is the definitive account of the black experience on screen —as vital and essential as Ken Burns’ Jazz and Eyes on the Prize. Justin Simien (Dear White People), Forest Whitaker (Godfather of Harlem) and Nina Yang Bongiovi (Godfather of Harlem) are attached as executive producers. Donald Bogle is attached as a consulting producer. Jesse Collins Entertainment is attached as the production company.
San Francisco Sounds (working title)
From the team behind the three-time Emmy nominated documentary Laurel Canyon, comes San Francisco Sounds, a two-part documentary series that captures the spirit of the San Francisco music scene from 1966 to 1976, where a new progressive sound embracing the psychedelic and protest movements emerging from the Bay Area was born. Framed by four of the most seminal music events in history, Monterey Pop, Altamont, Woodstock and The Last Waltz, the series is anticipated to include artists such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana, Moby Grape, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Steve Miller. Frank Marshall (Laurel Canyon, Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records), Jeff Pollack, Alex Gibney, Darryl Frank (Laurel Canyon, The Americans) and Justin Falvey (Laurel Canyon, The Americans), and Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon) are attached as executive producers. Alison Ellwood is also attached to direct. Jigsaw Productions is producing in association with Amblin Television and The Kennedy/Marshall Company. ■
