Tech dramedy “Loaded” scores AMC series order

PanARMENIAN.Net - With the end of 1980s computer drama Halt and Catch Fire in sight, AMC is looking to dip back into the modern tech boom with a new series, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The cable network is reteaming with Channel 4 and Keshet for Loaded, an eight-episode, straight-to-series order about a group of tech entrepreneurs.

Loaded centers on the lives of tech entrepreneurs/friends Josh (Jim Howick, The Aliens), Leon (Samuel Anderson, Doctor Who), Watto (Nick Helm, Uncle) and Ewan (Jonny Sweet, Babylon), who have just sold their startup video game company for hundreds of millions of dollars — the culmination of a billion man-hours of blood, sweat, toil, coding, shouting, swearing, fighting, hugging, pitching, grinding and, occasionally, showering. Overnight, the four thirtysomethings are transformed from people who play games to serious players in the game. Amid a raging hurricane of money, excess and millionaire’s guilt, Loaded is about ambition, gluttony, the peculiar distaste for other people’s success and how money can put even lifelong friendships to the test. Mary McCormack (The West Wing) co-stars as Casey, the vice president of acquisitions at the parent company that bought the friends' Idyl Hands startup. Production will begin in November for a 2017 premiere on AMC and Channel 4 in the U.K.

Loaded is a co-production between AMC, Channel 4, Hillbilly Television and Keshet UK. The drama is based on the Keshet International series Mesudurim, created by Muli Segev and Assaf Harel. (Two seasons of the show have aired on Keshet Broadcasting. The series won four Israeli Academy Awards in 2007.) Jon Brown (Veep) is on board to write and executive produce. Ian Fitzgibbon (Moone Boy) will direct the first three episodes. Hillbilly TV's Kate Norrish and Polly Leys will exec produce alongside Keshet's Howard Burch, Avi Nir, Segev and Harel. Charlie Leech (The Aliens) is on board as a producer. Roberto Troni and Lee Mason are the commissioning editor and commissioning executive, respectively, for Channel 4.

Loaded marks the latest collaboration for AMC and Channel 4, which previously teamed on Humans, which was was renewed for a second season and is awaiting a premiere date in the U.S.

"A smart and somewhat light-hearted look at all of the things that can go wrong when you’re suddenly very, very rich and very, very young felt like a perfect show for our times,” AMC president of programming Joel Stillerman said Wednesday in a statement. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Channel 4 and Keshet International and to begin a new one with Hillbilly and the very talented writer Jon Brown, director Ian Fitzgibbon and this terrific cast.”

Loaded comes as AMC has abandoned the traditional pilot development process in favor of straight-to-series orders and co-productions. The cable network will part ways with '80s computer drama Halt and Catch Fire as well as Turn in 2017. Its roster includes The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Into the Badlands, Humans and Preacher as well as the upcoming The Terror, The Son and Lodge 49.

WME brokered the deal for Loaded, which comes as HBO's similarly themed comedy Silicon Valley continues to be a critical darling.