AMC is going all in with a generous two-season series order for the animated drama Pantheon, based on a series of short stories by Ken Liu.
The hourlong drama from from Turn creator/executive producer Craig Silverstein & AMC Studios, focuses on Uploaded Intelligence, or human consciousness uploaded to the cloud. The story and structure of the series is so unique that AMC ordered a five-minute animated presentation to go along with creating a writers room in the summer of 2018. There were a lot of moving parts which is why it has taken this long to get to the announcement and the deal but AMC seems to be excited about the series which is said to have a visual style that is described as a fresh take on graphic realism done in a traditional 2D way, using modern tools. Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studio, had this to say about acquiring Pantheon:
"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. 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."
The first season of Pantheon, which is set for an eight-episode run, will focus on Maddie, a bullied teen who receives mysterious help from someone online who turns out be her father who has passed away. Her father's consciousness has been uploaded to the cloud following an experimental destructive brain scan which makes him the first of a new kind of being: an “Uploaded Intelligence” or “UI,” but he will not be the last, as a global conspiracy unfolds that threatens to trigger a new kind of world war.
The project definitely sounds impressive and we don't really have any primetime animated dramas I can think of off the top of my head so this will be a show that I'll definitely be checking out. Will YOU be watching Pantheon?