Why This Matters: The time that cable networks have to develop shows into hits has been a boon to AMC programming chief David Madden.
David Madden, president of original programming at AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios, recently marked his first anniversary in the role. He came from Fox, where he spent 17 years, departing as president of entertainment.
David Madden, president of original programming, AMC
Madden called his new gig a dream job with a lively studio and popular series such as The Walking Dead, which premiered season nine on Oct. 7, and Better Call Saul, whose season four finale airs Oct. 8. AMC's newer entries include Flight 49 and The Terror, while SundanceTV series include The Split and The Road to Jonestown.
Madden spoke with B&C senior content producer Michael Malone about what drew him to AMC, the new season of The Walking Dead, and competing with the streaming giants. An edited transcript follows.
What is the biggest difference between working in cable versus broadcast?
The biggest difference is time. I really enjoyed my broadcast experience. I got a lot out of it; it was an incredible education to observe how an environment like that works. But I was responsible for 15 hours of original programming every week. The day you get there, they hand you a very long document that they call The Squares, which is basically, a square for every hour of primetime for the next two years, and your job is to fill those squares. As long as it's visible and in color and in focus, that's really what matters. Obviously, there's a desire for quality, but speed is everything. Volume is everything.
In cable, and especially at a place like AMC, you've got time to develop things right. You're not beholden to a broadcast development calendar that is ruthless and rigid. You can get the scripts to the right place. You have the time to cast them correctly, to find the right director, the right way to shoot it.
Between scripted and unscripted and co-productions, I've got 24 shows that I work on. Taking the right amount of time to make the shows properly is the biggest difference to me.
What about the AMC job got your attention?
AMCs "Better Call Saul"
Credit: Nicole Wilder/AMC/Sony Pictures
Two jobs ago, I was at a company called Fox TV Studios and I was based at Fox. We were making shows for a variety of different cable platforms and I had the opportunity to make The Killing for AMC. Not only was I really proud of the show, but it gave me an opportunity to meet Charlie Collier [president and general manager, AMC, SundanceTV, AMC Studios], Susie Fitzgerald [executive VP, programming, AMC and SundanceTV] and Ben Davis [executive VP, programming, AMC Studios] and a lot of the people at AMC, so I had a chance to experience the culture. What I liked about that culture, which I've only grown to appreciate that much more by being inside it, is how much concentration there is on quality, on taking risks in storytelling, in casting. Patty Jenkins who hadn't worked much in the previous few years not only did she win the DGA Award for directing that pilot, but she went on to direct Wonder Woman and is now one of the hottest directors in the business. That was a chance that AMC was willing to take, as well as with Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos in the casting.
I also really liked the fact that it was a network that had done well by making high-quality shows, whether they be Mad Men and Breaking Bad, or subsequent shows like The Walking Dead or Better Call Saul. Here's a network that had won by making quality first, and that was very appealing to me.
Can AMC get back to a period where it's got shows of the Mad Men and Breaking Bad caliber, or is it not even fair to compare?
As somebody who watched all of Breaking Bad as a consumer and, up until a year ago, watched all of Better Call Saul as a consumer and last year as an executive, I think Better Call Saul is absolutely in the company of those two shows. Saul is certainly one of the elite shows on television right now.
The Walking Dead aims for different things than Mad Men or Breaking Bad did, but its track record as an audience-pleasing show is undeniable. This year we've launched three shows, Lodge 49, Dietland and The Terror, and I think all three are really high-quality pieces that critics responded well to.
Mad Men occupied a unique place in the culture because there were a lot fewer shows on when it launched. There's now a lot more for us to compete with, but I think we're still operating at a pretty high level.
What can viewers expect to see this season on The Walking Dead?
AMCs "The Walking Dead"
Credit: Aidan Monaghan/AMC
The season will feel different. The last couple of seasons were marketed as all-out war, and you saw that the effort to really build to the conclusion of the Negan story was pretty violent and intense, which is not to say season nine doesn't have that level of intensity. But we have a new showrunner, Angela Kang, and she's brought in a different feel, and there are a lot of new characters. We're doing a bit of a time jump, so you'll see that the world has changed for our principal characters. The relationships have moved in really interesting new directions. Unexpected romances may have started to flower. It's also a world that has moved on a bit from what we last saw. You're going to see a lot more people on horseback because they've run out of gas. They've had to civilize a bit and figure out how to forge a peace after all those years of all-out war.
The show will look and feel different, and it will obviously take its cues, as it always has, from Robert Kirkman and the comic book.
Dietland was so timely. Why didn't that work?
I wish I knew. We were extraordinarily proud of the show. The show was greenlit in Augu
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Why This Matters: The time that cable networks have to develop shows into hits has been a boon to AMC programming chief David Madden.
