The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment has just signed a deal with Entertainment One for a brand new series titled 5 Year, reports Deadline.
The series, which is based on an idea by Kirkman, will document the final five years of Earth before it is hit by a fatal meteor, wiping out all civilisation. Both Skybound Entertainment and Entertainment One will produce the series, while eOne will handle financing and distribution.
As suggested by the title, 5 Year is looking at a five-season run (at least), and already has international deals in place for Korea, the UK, Latin America, Germany, India, Russia, China and Italy. Rather unusually, the plan is to produce a different version of the series for every region, meaning each version will be relevant to where it’s being aired with characters and narratives being set around the world.
“One of our biggest goals at Skybound is to elevate creators by offering them a platform to create compelling stories,” Kirkman told Deadline. “Working on 5 Year is an exceptional experience because it gives us the opportunity to see how writers and directors across the world tell different stories with the same core ingredients. We’re excited to have eOne’s expertise in global storytelling for this project.”
eOne’s Chief Strategy Officer for Film & TV Peter Micelli said: “We couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to work on a truly innovative project that blends multiple, local productions seamlessly into a story as it happens globally.
“Robert’s talent for creating content universes and connecting with audiences through bold storytelling makes this partnership most exciting for us and we are thrilled to join forces with him and the Skybound team to bring a multi-level story like the 5 Year universe to audiences around the world. In Skybound, we have found a partner that shares our drive to create future-facing content with worldwide appeal that challenges conventions and spark imaginations.”
Skybound’s Kirkman, Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst will all serve as executive producers for all of the 5 Year series.
5 Year does not yet have an air date. Get all the latest sci-fi news with every issue of SciFiNow.