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AMC Networks axes 61st Street, Invitation to a Bonfire amid cost-cutting efforts

Legal drama 61st Street premiered in April last year

AMC Networks has scrapped a pair of dramas, 61st Street and Invitation to a Bonfire, as part of the US company’s cost-cutting measures.

Legal drama 61st Street received a two-season order in 2019, with the first season debuting in April 2022. The second season has already been shot but AMC has opted not to air the series.

Psychological thriller Invitation to a Bonfire, based on Adrienne Celt’s book of the same name, was originally scheduled to air in 2023. The axing of the series comes with part of the first season already filmed.

The show cancellations are related to the previously announced programming write-downs, disclosed by the New York-headquartered company in a Securities and Exchange Commission in late November.

AMC Networks, which is the parent company of streaming services such as Acorn TV, AMC+ and Shudder and cablenets including AMC, Sundance TV and IFC, previously said it expected to incur between US$375m and US$475m in pre-tax restructuring charges.

Between US$300m and US$400m will be related to “strategic programming assessments,” said AMC Networks, while between US$50m and US$75m is expected to come from organisational restructuring costs including severance and retention.

It emerged last month that AMC+ original Moonhaven had been cancelled as a result of the cost reductions.

AMC Networks is currently being led by interim executive chairman James Dolan, who assumed the role last month following the departure of former CEO Christina Spade. Dolan, whose family is the controlling shareholder of AMC Networks, is leading the company while it searches for a new CEO.

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