Thirty years in the past, the coming-of-age romantic comedy “Clueless” opened in film theaters and went on to turn out to be an everlasting American popular culture touchstone.
“I’m thrilled that folks find it irresistible and proceed to find it irresistible,” the film’s star, Alicia Silverstone, mentioned in a latest dialog in New York. “Younger individuals. Previous individuals. It’s actually gone on and on, and clearly that’s pretty.”
AMC Networks is relying on Silverstone’s multigenerational enchantment to assist increase the New York-based media firm’s streaming service Acorn TV, which focuses on British dramas and different applications from abroad.
Silverstone is the lead within the new Acorn unique sequence “Irish Blood,” which premiered Monday. She performs hard-bitten Los Angeles divorce lawyer Fiona Sharpe, who heads to Eire to resolve a thriller involving the daddy who deserted her as a toddler.
AMC has additionally signed the imperishable Brooke Shields to star in one other Acorn venture titled “You’re Killing Me.” She portrays a thriller novelist who groups with a younger wannabe author and influencer to research murders in a small New England city. The sequence begins taking pictures this summer time and is ready to premiere in 2026.
Why put two iconic American actresses on a streaming platform with a well-defined area of interest of offering viewers with worldwide areas and accents that at instances require closed-captioning even when the language is English?
Even the small gamers in streaming should get greater.
AMC doesn’t have the deep pockets to compete with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. The corporate has blazed its personal digital path by serving devoted audiences who can pay for a further streaming service that caters to their passions, similar to Shudder for horror followers and HIDIVE for anime lovers.
The corporate’s suite of streaming providers has round 10.4 million clients. Even with that modest determine, AMC Networks’ streaming income has steadily grown to the purpose the place it’s going to quickly surpass what the corporate earns from its conventional TV channels similar to AMC, BBC America, Sundance TV and WE, which proceed to see subscriber declines due to cord-cutting.
AMC has discovered that the robust fan bases for its area of interest providers are keen to soak up worth will increase and are much less prone to cancel. The corporate has managed to maintain its streaming platforms priced at lower than $10 a month.
Brooke Shields is ready to star subsequent yr in “You’re Killing Me,” a brand new small-town thriller from Acorn TV.
(Evelyn Freja / For The Instances)
Now AMC Networks is trying to speed up its subscriber progress and Acorn — the preferred and worthwhile of its standalone choices — is seen because the platform greatest suited to the duty.
“It’s a service we actually imagine in,” Courtney Thomasma, government vice chairman for streaming and content material technique at AMC Networks, advised The Instances in a latest interview. “During the last yr, we’ve been actually centered on searching for methods to proceed to boost consciousness of the model and invite new viewers in who we all know would additionally find it irresistible. We’re doing that with a concentrate on investing within the model and alluring greater expertise that’s extra acquainted to North American audiences.”
Many followers of Acorn — which began out as a direct marketer of British TV sequence on dwelling video and was acquired by AMC in 2018 — are what Thomasma calls “armchair vacationers” who need to absorb a French winery or the cobblestone streets of Chelsea. However AMC believes aligning Acorn extra carefully to the thriller style will widen its enchantment.
A monthlong promotional marketing campaign underneath the banner of Homicide Thriller Could — which featured a variety of season premieres — drove Acorn TV subscription sign-ups to a four-year excessive. The 20 million hours watched throughout the month was one of the best ever for the service, in accordance with AMC.
The emphasis on thriller offers Acorn the latitude to solid Silverstone and Shields. A method AMC attracts star expertise is the chance to place their very own artistic stamp on their applications. “They turn out to be as invested within the success of the tasks as we’re,” Thomasma mentioned.
Silverstone got here on to “Irish Blood” as government producer and have become concerned within the growth of the sequence. She was concerned within the hiring of key positions within the manufacturing and labored with the writers. She’s pleased with the outcome.
“I assumed it was quirky and in addition an emotionally deep drama,” Silverstone mentioned. “There’s rather a lot for me to do.”
Shields and author Robin Bernheim pitched the technology hole tandem on the heart of “You’re Killing Me” to AMC, and the actor stays deeply concerned within the course of as taking pictures begins. “That is the primary time I’ve ever had this a lot artistic management as an government producer,” Shields mentioned in an interview. “I really feel fortunate that they entrusted me to do what we’re doing.”
Silverstone, left, with Ruth Codd in “Irish Blood.”
(Szymon Lazewski / Acorn TV)
Acorn groups with manufacturing companions all over the world and generates income from promoting a few of its sequence for second runs on worldwide broadcasters and PBS. AMC spends within the vary of $1 million per episode for its cost-efficient sequence, that are heavy on dialogue and largely car-chase free. The viewers is older — they’re avid readers who’re prone to subscribe to newspapers, watch cable information and PBS, and revel in fixing puzzles.
And although Acorn is hoping to draw extra youthful subscribers, the service gained’t be dropping its British accent.
Acorn just lately launched “Artwork Detectives” with Stephen Moyer, who is also an government producer. The sequence, a few Heritage Crime Unit that solves murders related to artwork and antiques, had the strongest premiere within the streamer’s historical past.
Later this yr, it’s going to supply a brand new six-episode sequence starring Matthew Lewis, identified for his Neville Longbottom function within the Harry Potter movies. Primarily based on the sequence of Canon Clements thriller novels by the Rev. Richard Coles, “Homicide Earlier than Evensong” is a co-production with British broadcaster Channel 5.
“We delight ourselves on being a boutique neighborhood retailer, the sort that you just stroll in, you understand the proprietor [and] the proprietor is aware of you,” Thomasma mentioned. “We now have deep connection to our viewers.”
