‘Terrified’
The streaming market in Australia and New Zealand will soon become even more cluttered and competitive as AMC Networks announced its direct-to-consumer services Sundance Now and Shudder will launch in both countries later this year.
Specialising in genre entertainment covering thrillers, suspense and horror, Shudder will cost $4.99 a month or $49.99 per year. AMC did not disclose the fees for Sundance Now, which costs $US6.99 a month in the US.
The expansion builds on both services’ growth in subscribers in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany and Austria.
“Our continued expansion of Shudder and Sundance Now speaks to our success in offering audiences exclusive and original content they can’t get anywhere else along with an unparalleled user experience,” said Paul Rehrig, executive VP of business development for AMC Networks.
“We look forward to introducing both services into these new markets as consumer demand for our curated streaming offerings continues to grow.”
It is not immediately clear whether Sundance Now has the Australian/NZ rights to some of the shows it screens in the US and internationally, such as Subtext Pictures’ miniseries Dead Lucky, Top of the Lake: China Girl and Cleverman.
Sundance, for example, has the streaming rights in the US and Europe for Rosehaven while the ABC has all-rights in Oz, according to producer Kevin Whyte.
This week AMC highlighted a host of new shows for both services.
Sundance Now:
Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle – Executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the docu-series covers the Jonestown massacre that claimed the lives of more than 900 people in the biggest mass suicide in American history. Premieres December 20.
Exeter – Sundance Now’s first-ever original scripted podcast starring Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love) and Ray McKinnon (Rectify) is a six-episode series created by Ronnie Gunter. Debuts October 25.
This Close – Created, written and starring Shoshannah Stern and Josh Feldman, both deaf actors, the six-episode dramedy explores the relationship between best friends Kate, who is newly engaged, and Michael, who is attempting to move on from his ex-fiancé. Available now.
Cold Blooded – In 1959 the murder of a family in Kansas shocks a town to its core. Shortly after author Truman Capote arrives in the town to write the novel ‘In Cold Blood’, which eventually spawns the modern true crime genre. In this docu-series, Joe Berlinger, Alison Berg and Kahane Cooperman separate fact from sensationalism and “non-fiction” by mixing re-enactments, rarely-seen archival footage and new interviews. Available now.
Shudder:
Satan’s Slaves – When a famous singer dies from a mysterious illness, her family feels her presence linger and a horrifying saga begins. The Shudder Original is directed by Joko Anwar.
Terrified – Directed by Demián Rugna, this thriller posits that no one can explain what is going on in an ordinary suburban neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Voices are being heard from kitchen sinks, bodies are levitating and evil is there. It’s up to a doctor, her colleague and an ex-cop to get to the bottom of this nightmare.
Summer of 84 – After suspecting their police officer neighbour is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous. Debuts October 25.
Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel – Thanks to an anonymous tip, an investigative journalist is convinced that key evidence is hidden inside the abandoned Abaddon Hotel – evidence she thinks will shed light on the hotel’s mysteries. The Shudder exclusive is directed by Stephen Cognetti.