AMC lines up Ken Liu stories for first toon

US cablenet AMC has ordered its first primetime animated show, a futuristic series based on short stories by Ken Liu.

Sarah Barnett

Pantheon will be produced by Emmy-winning animation prodco Titmouse and AMC Studios. AMC has placed an order for two seasons, each consisting of eight one-hour episodes.

The show is described as an “immersive drama about human consciousness uploaded to the cloud” and Craig Silverstein (Turn, Nikita, Terra Nova) is attached as writer, creator and showrunner.

Liu will be a consulting producer on the show which, in its first season, focuses on a bullied teen who receives mysterious help from somebody online.

The stranger is soon revealed to be her recently deceased father, David, whose consciousness has been uploaded to the Cloud following an experimental destructive brain scan.

“Pantheon is an entertaining and provocative series about personal relationships and what happens to them when the boundary of life is removed from the human condition. And we’re looking to push other boundaries here too, in making an animated drama that aims to be every bit as moving, immersive and visceral as any premium, live-action scripted series,” said Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios.

“We are fortunate to have incredible source material from Ken Liu, one of the most celebrated science fiction writers at work today, and we are delighted to once again be working with Craig Silverstein. Both of these writers know how to weave the intimate and the epic into a powerful tale.”