Fox International Channel Announces The Walking Dead Launch Dates


Fox International seems to think that inetrnational fans of The Walking Dead want to know when season 2 kicks off and they're probably right. The somber and intense first season has pretty much got everyone hooked and excited for round 2 of Frank Grimes and co. versus the living dead. Now there's a date to look forward to in October 17th, one day after the US premiere on October 16th.

“The Walking Dead audience wants to see this show live,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, SVP of Scripted Programming. “The first season became a hyped global water cooler event and we feel obligated to bring the show to international viewers right after its US launch.”

All thirteen episodes of the second season will reach markets such as Australia, UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Balkans, Baltic, Norway, Netherlands, all Latin America, all Middle East, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. It's great news for fans of the show who aren't in the US but still love them some US comics properties.

The news comes right after Frank Darabont announced he was stepping down as producer of the show. But hey, the show will still be awesome!

Full press release after the jump.

FOX INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS ANNOUNCES "THE WALKING DEAD" SEASON 2 LAUNCH DATES

Just off the heels of Comic Con, Fox International Channels (FIC) today announced October 17th as the kickoff launch date for the highly anticipated second season of the television series The Walking Dead.

Once again, a few hours after AMC’s premiere Sunday, October 16th, FIC will begin its second season rollout on Monday, October 17th. All FIC markets will be launching the first episode during the week of July 17th and before the second episode is released in the US.

“The Walking Dead audience wants to see this show live,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, SVP of Scripted Programming. “The first season became a hyped global water cooler event and we feel obligated to bring the show to international viewers right after its US launch.”

Second season of The Walking Dead will reach FOX audiences in 122 countries, speaking 35 languages and will be seen by over 200 million internationally. Markets include: Australia, UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Balkans, Baltic, Norway, Netherlands, all Latin America, all Middle East, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa.

FIC and AMC are working closely on a global marketing campaign and communication strategy for this year’s thirteen episode series.

Season one of The Walking Dead marked the best performance for a US cable show in the international market. It delivered record breaking ratings in both the US and internationally. It was nominated for several awards including but not limited to: Best Television Series Drama at the 68th Golden Globes and has also been nominated for three awards for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in the US. Internationally, season one won Best Series, Best Writer and Man of The Year for Robert Kirkman at the Stan Lee Awards in the UK and has been nominated by the Seoul International Drama Awards for Best Series and early this year, Fox International Channels won a Promax Award for best global campaign for the first season.

Early tomorrow, FIC will release The Walking Dead second season trailer to the international community with a message about the global launch. The trailer will be available on http://thewalkingdead.foxinternationalchannels.com/.

The Walking Dead is AMC’s first wholly-owned original series. FIC owns all international rights for the project, in all international markets outside of North America and recently made a deal with eOne to handle Broadcast TV rights and Digital/DVD rights in all markets.

The Walking Dead is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. Kirkman serves as an executive producer on the project and three-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) serves as writer, director and executive producer. Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon, The Incredible Hulk), chairman of Valhalla Motion Pictures, serves as Executive Producer. David Alpert from Circle of Confusion serves as Executive Producer. Charles “Chic” Eglee (Dexter, The Shield, Dark Angel) serves as Executive Producer.

About FOX International Channels

FOX International Channels (FIC) is News Corporation’s international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 183 wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, factual, sports and movie channels across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, in 35 languages. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 300 million subscribing households (875 million cumulative) worldwide. We also operate a global online advertising unit, .FOX (pronounced “dot-fox”) specialized in online video and display, and four TV production houses. In operation since: August 14, 1993.

About AMC

AMC reigns as the only network to ever win the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama three years in a row and the only basic cable network to win back-to-back Primetime Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade from the most comprehensive library or creating acclaimed original productions, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include the Emmy® Award-winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and insightful non-scripted programming such as AMC News. AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with curated movie franchises like AMC Hollywood Icon and AMC Complete Collection. Available in more than 95 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, which includes sister networks IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and Wedding Central. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters Here

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