AMC Opens Writers Rooms for Series Prospects From Rashida Jones, ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Creators

By Cynthia Littleton

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – AMC is moving forward with development on two series prospects, opening writers rooms to generate scripts for series projects from Rashida Jones and the creators of “Halt and Catch Fire.”

for several years has taken the step of establishing a small writers room for some of its development projects. The goal is to allow creators and showrunners the time to flesh out story arcs and the world of a show before the cabler commits to a series order. The practice has generated some complaints in the creative community as it elongates the traditional development timeline.

Jones and her producing partner Will McCormack are shepherding a form-bending project with the working title “Kevin Can F— Himself,” created by Valerie Armstrong, who is a writer for AMC’s well-received new drama “Lodge 49.” “Kevin”revolves around a the secret life of a sitcom wife, examining the trope of the beautiful woman married to a “caveman-like husband” from her POV. The show promises to alternate “between single-camera realism and multi-camera zaniness,” per AMC. Jones, McCormack and Armstrong are exec producers for Le Train Train Productions.

“Rainy Day People” is set in a mental health and rehab facility, and will examine the  world of treatment and wellness through the eyes of the patients and the staff who have worked at the facility in various incarnations over the past 50 years. “Rainy” hails from “Halt” creators Chris Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers, who exec produce with Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein of Gran Via Productions.

“These are two genuinely inventive pieces of material from terrific creative teams whom we’ve had great experiences with,” said David Madden, president of programming for AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “We like writers’ rooms. We like the opportunity to write multiple scripts, to explore the dynamics of how a season will work, to really figure out who the characters are and how their behavior guides story.”

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