AMC – the network home of The Walking Dead in the US – to air LA Ink -style show set in a comic shop
So, are real American comic book stores like the one in The Simpsons ? Looks like we’re about to find out. AMC, the US network that airs The Walking Dead , has commissioned a six-part reality series in the style of LA Ink called Secret Stash , set in writer/director/übergeek Kevin Smith’s real-life comic book store Jay And Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
The unscripted show captures the world of the neighbourhood comic book store and fanboy culture. Season one is six, one-hour episodes and is currently scheduled for an early 2012 launch. Jay And Silent Bob’s Secret Stash is located in Red Bank, New Jersey.
“Draper. Meth. Zombies. This show couldn’t be on a better network,” says Smith. “AMC is to television what Miramax was to cinema back when I first got in the game: they’re the premier destination for any story-teller looking to spin an offbeat yarn that no other outlet has the stones to touch. And as if I didn’t love them enough, now they’re putting my friends on TV! I’m ecstatic, proud, and extremely lucky to be in bed with a network I watch religiously anyway. And if they’d pushed just a little harder in the negotiations, I’d have done this show for no payment beyond early access to every episode of Mad Men , Breaking Bad and Walking Dead .”
“AMC has a strong commitment to quality storytelling and we’re excited to help further shape this legacy,” says producer Charlie Corwin. “Kevin and I developed this series to create a story for fanboys by fanboyism and we are determined to reveal to audiences the insular yet colourful fanboy world.”
“The comic book store is, in many ways, the corner bar for comic book fans. It is still this place where everybody knows your name, and you can go and geek out with like minded people. If I lived closer, I’d want to hang out at here. It’s got great energy, great personality, and is a perfect portal into the world of comic book culture,” said AMC bigwig Joel Stillerman (whose full title is so long his business card must be printed in teeny tiny text).
Secret Stash will be executive produced by Kevin Smith ( Clerks , Dogma , Chasing Amy ), Charlie Corwin’s Original Media ( LA Ink , Miami Ink , Storm Chasers and Swamp People ) and Elyse Seiden ( Red State ).
No news yet on a UK broadcast, but we’d be surprised if it didn’t turn up somewhere. Sounds fun, and with Smith overseeing it, it shouldn’t be as patronising as some of these shows can be.
