AMC Developing Third Season of The Terror

AMC is now fielding pitches for a third season of The Terror, the network’s first horror anthology series. According to Deadline, the Tony and Ridley Scott-founded production company Scott Free Productions has pitched concepts for a third season following a freshman season that explored a frozen voyage at sea, inspired by the Royal Navy’s 1847 trek towards the Northwest Passage, and a World War II-set sophomore season about a malevolent entity haunting a Japanese American community.

“I love the concept of historical and horror. Horror is such a brilliant metaphorical way to talk about being human and the jagged emotions we feel, it’s wonderful,” AMC chief Sarah Barnett told Deadline. “So, setting it in such a heightened and particular historical moment that has great stakes, such as internment camps or the north west passage, is really interesting. I’m curious how we can [continue] that franchise and look at what works. We don’t just want to keep doing the same thing, what would a season three look like.”

This proposed third season will also tap new creative forces, following the first season from David Kaiganich and the second from Alexander Woo and Max Borenstein.

In a separate interview with The Los Angeles Times, Barnett addressed the risks versus rewards of taking an anthological approach to television:

“Generally, we are interested in the different ways that people are watching content, and it is shifting so rapidly. A weekly rollout of shows — the craft of television — is something that is getting lost, and I proudly will continue to advocate for that and green-light shows that do that,” she said. “We absolutely remain committed to making shows that are long-running, ongoing series. You can’t help, though, but notice how our world is changing, and how viewing patterns are shifting, and how — particularly driven by the sheer overwhelming volume of shows on streaming platforms and the ways in which shows come and go so quickly — shows aren’t existing for as long.”

Beyond The Terror, Barnett discussed the “experimental” For Life, described as “a sort of Black Mirror for love.”

“We’re hoping that the concept is enough of an appealing hook to keep people coming back. … It’s only six episodes, so we’re not stretching it too long. We’re trying something. We’re experimenting with something,” Barnett said of For Life. “I’m really interested in exploring on a weekly rollout, linear platform, how audiences’ changing ways of watching will impact our success. That’s the only episodic anthology. We did The Terror, which is [season-long], and then Jason Segel’s Dispatches From Elsewhere is also a [season-long] story. It comes back to what I hadn’t realized was a recurring theme in my life, which was the love of closure.”