Wayne
AMC has hired feature writer-director Christina Wayne to oversee scripted series and movies for the cabler.
Wayne, who has served as a consultant for the network for the past year, will report directly to exec VP and programming, packaging and production Rob Sorcher. Her title will be vice president.
AMC announced it was breaking into the scripted arena last month (
Daily Variety, Oct. 21), teaming with the BBC to produce the crime caper skein "Hustle." Sorcher said a handful of other one-hours are already in development and that the cabler is finalizing deals with several top-tier scribes to develop projects.
First order of business for Wayne will be to oversee AMC's first-ever original mini, "Broken Trail" (formerly "Daughters of Joy"), exec produced by and starring Robert Duvall, and "Hustle."
Sorcher said recruiting Wayne was the first step in establishing AMC's commitment to original hours.
With her "background in film, I'm hoping to set the sensibility of AMC's series," Sorcher said. "We're going after shows that are contemporary with something retro rooted in them. AMC is strong in key movie genres, and we think it makes a lot of sense to do series that link to our extensive library of features."
"Hustle," about a group of London-based con artists, is a heist hour that "feels like a classic crime caper but has this cool modern spin. That's the combination we're looking for," said Sorcher.
"Broken Trail," meanwhile, will likely pair with AMC's top-performing Western films. Mini will premiere over two consecutive nights June 24-25.
AMC averaged 566,000 primetime overall viewers in October -- up 13% from the previous year.
Wayne wrote and directed the Lions Gate pic "Tart" and more recently helped pen the sequel to "Dirty Dancing." Her TV experience includes producing content for E!, USA and Fox.
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