TV News: ‘The Walking Dead’ to Premiere New Season With 90-Minute Opener

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CHICAGO – Fans of “The Walking Dead” that have waited for the second season to arrive will be rewarded for their patience with an extra 30 minutes of zombie action in the season two premiere. The second season, which premieres on Sunday October 16, will start off with a 90-minute opener, much like the series did in the first season. Unlike the first season that only aired for six nights, season two will last 13 episodes split into two separate time frames.

After the 90-minute premiere, the show will run six one-hour episodes in the six weeks that follow. After episode seven, the season will take a break and come back to the air on Sunday February 12 with six more hour-long episodes. The series will once again follow Sheriff Rick Grimes, his family, sheriff’s department partner, and the survivors he has met along the way in the first season of the show.
 
AMC didn’t stop the news there as they announced they have given the greenlight to the new series “JJK Security.” The series follows a group of characters who work for a small, family-owned security company located in Georgia.
 
“When we first saw the tape of JJK we were speechless. It is unlike anything we have ever seen before - a true original,” said Joel Stillerman, Senior Vice President of AMC. “The characters are incredibly rich and compelling; and Left/Right found a way to tell the story in an honest, funny, and nuanced way. In non-fiction series, it is incredibly hard to find great characters and great story, and this is truly both.”

The Walking Dead returns for a second season on Oct. 16.
Photo credit: AMC

“JJK Security” seems to be different than the current AMC series like “Mad Men”, “Breaking Bad”, “The Walking Dead” and “The Killing”, as the show will follow off-beat characters and is designed as a comedy.
 
But don’t stop reading yet! AMC also announced that they have greenlit the new series “Secret Stash,” executive produced by “Clerks” creator Kevin Smith. Set in Jay and Silent Bob’s iconic comic book shop, the first season will be six one-hour unscripted episodes capturing the world of fanboy culture and neighborhood comic book stores.
 
Kevin Smith expressed his excitement for both the show and working with AMC in the network’s release: “Draper. Meth. Zombies. This show couldn’t be on a better network. AMC is to television what Miramax was to cinema back when I first got in the game: they’re the premier destination for any storyteller looking to spin an offbeat yarn that no other outlet has the stones to touch,” said Smith. “And as if I didn’t love them enough, now they’re putting my friends on TV! I’m ecstatic, proud, and extremely lucky to be in bed with a network I watch religiously anyway. And if they’d pushed just a little harder in the negotiations, I’d have done this show for no payment beyond early access to every episode of ‘Mad Men’, ‘Breaking Bad’, and ‘The Walking Dead’.”
 
The new series “JJK Security” is scheduled for a third quarter release next year while “Secret Stash” will come a little earlier with a first quarter release in 2012.

By TIM MARTENS
Contributing Writer
HollywoodChicago.com