Fifteen years ago, Robert Kirkman began digging into idea of a zombie apocalypse with his comic book The Walking Dead. You might have heard that one before – and of course, that's an image from the Walking Dead TV show above. Now Kirkman and his company Skybound Entertainment are teaming with Entertainment One to create a new series that will tell the story of a different kind of apocalypse on a global scale.
Skybound and eOne will be producing and eOne will be financing and distributing 5 Year, which will examine
the final five years before a fatal meteor hits the Earth.
With everyone on the planet facing this same threat, there's potential for multiple shows that could exist within this same universe while being set in different countries. International deals are already in place for Korea, the UK, Latin America, Germany, India, Russia, China, and Italy, with the idea being that there will be
a different version of 5 Year will be produced for each market with narratives and characters set in that region. Those individualized 5 Year will be in that locale or nation’s own language while following an overall timeline for the entire series.
Since the story covers a five year span before the meteor strikes, that means each 5 Year series could run for five seasons.
Kirkman said,
Working on 5 Year is an exceptional experience because it gives us the opportunity to see how writers and directors across the world tell different stories with the same core ingredients. We’re excited to have eOne’s expertise in global storytelling for this project."
Peter Micelli, eOne's Chief Strategy Officer, Film & TV, added:
We couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to work on a truly innovative project that blends multiple, local productions seamlessly into a story as it happens globally. Robert’s talent for creating content universes and connecting with audiences through bold storytelling makes this partnership most exciting for us and we are thrilled to join forces with him and the Skybound team to bring a multi-level story like the 5 Year universe to audiences around the world. In Skybound, we have found a partner that shares our drive to create future-facing content with worldwide appeal that challenges conventions and spark imaginations."
Kirkman will be executive producing all of the 5 Year series with David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst.
I was interested when I first heard the concept of 5 Year, but when I saw that this was going to be an instant franchise of multiple shows being made around the world the idea became even more exciting to me. Now I'm really looking forward to seeing what all these different shows are going to be like.