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UPDATE, 2 PM: AMC officially announced the second-season renewal of The Killing with a 13-episode order. Release below:
PREVIOUS, 12 PM: With solid ratings and strong critical acclaim, AMC’s The Killing has been a shoo-in for a second-season renewal. I hear that is now a reality. While not a breakout hit of the size of The Walking Dead, murder mystery The Killing has defied the common downward ratings trajectory for a heavily serialized drama by keeping its ratings steady while garnering cult following and major awards attention. The series’ first-season finale airs this Sunday. An adaptation of the Danish series Forbrydelsen, The Killing is produced by Fox TV Studios. Veena Sud penned the adaptation, which stars Mireille Enos. With the renewal of The Killing, 4 of AMC’s 5 series so far have gone to second season. The only one that didn’t was Rubicon.
New York, NY – June 13, 2011 – AMC announced today the renewal of “The Killing” for a 13-episode second season. From writer, executive producer and series showrunner Veena Sud (“Cold Case”), season one premiered on Sunday, April 3 to 2.7 million total viewers. The series currently reigns as the second highest premiere season for an original drama in AMC history. “The Killing” is based on the successful Danish television series “Forbrydelsen” and is produced by Fox Television Studios and executive produced by Mikkel Bondesen (“Burn Notice”) for Fuse Entertainment. Season one’s finale premieres Sunday, June 19 at 10pm EST.
Since its debut, “The Killing” has garnered rave reviews and critical acclaim. “Veena and her writers, cast and crew; FTVS; and Fuse have shown us how much room there is to elevate the crime drama with this series,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s SVP of original programming, production and digital content. “The suspense of the investigation in each episode, and the emotional intensity of the characters over the season give this show a visceral quality that makes for incredibly powerful television. A lot of loyal fans made a huge investment in this show this season, and we are thrilled to be able to bring it back next season for all involved.”
David Madden, president, Fox Television Studios, said, “We are proud to bring back one of the most extraordinary casts on television to tantalize, scare, mesmerize, and occasionally infuriate the audience for one more season, with Veena Sud masterfully at the helm again. The audience response to this show has been so overwhelming, and it is a privilege for us to have the chance to produce more episodes, especially for a network as shrewd and tasteful as AMC. May ‘The Killing’ never stop.”
Shot on location in Vancouver, “The Killing’s” season one is anchored by a breakout cast, including Mireille Enos (“Big Love”) as Sarah Linden, the lead homicide detective investigating the death of Rosie Larsen; Billy Campbell (“Once and Again”) as Darren Richmond, Seattle’s City Council President running for Mayor; Joel Kinnaman (Snabba Cash) as Stephen Holder, an ex-narc cop who joins the homicide division in the investigation to find Rosie’s killer; Michelle Forbes as Rosie’s mother, Mitch; and Brent Sexton as Rosie’s father, Stan. AMC’s Joel Stillerman, SVP of original programming, production and digital content, Susie Fitzgerald, SVP of scripted programming, and Jason Fisher, SVP of production, oversee series production for the network.
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Yay!
Absolutely the best show on TV
I loved this program, couldn’t wait for it again, I’m waiting for Season 2. I really love Robicon too, sorry it’s not on.
I am with you,I really enjoyed watching this mystery week to week, I can’t wait for the new season begins….
I really dislike this show but i’m happy for the people who enjoy it.
What don’t you like about it?
Isn’t it obvious
This show is filled with cliches and has been very inconsistent. At first most critics jump on board this series in first couple of episode. In the last couple weeks the backlash from critics has started. The show took too long to find chemistry between the two lead detectives. The story would pick up clues that went no where. Characters have been barely fleshed out. This is the show that took some of shine from AMC brand.
One thing I can tell you is season 2 i wouldn’t be suprised if AMC bring in a new creative writing team and showrunner.
As far as their chemistry goes, this show takes place over something like a week. It takes time to develop chemistry and I think their unfolding of it was just right. Also, I don’t know if you’ve ever read any police files but there are tons of clues that get investigated and go nowhere. That is part of the drudgery of investigation. I guess that’s what I like most about this show, while it is entertainment and not a documentary on police procedure, it does come closer to reality in exposing the exhaustive investigation of every single little lead.
Let me guess – you’re a wanna-be writer right? I can always guess the wanna-be writer. With such analytical insight, I’m surprised that you aren’t working in the industry. I’m sure Hollywood could use a genius like yourself.
And I’m sure your writing is much better than anything we currently see on TV.
“The Killing” is basically a European show rewritten and “improved” by the heavy hands of a “Cold Case” writer. The victim and her life were forgotten in the investigation after three or four days when the show focused on red herring #3 Bennet Ahmed.
It’s a huge flaw. The show isn’t about Rosie but she could have been the connection between increasingly disjointed stories: the parents, the investigation, the campaign
Since then, we got in quick succession:
- the FBI
- two girls with the same Grand Canyon sweater going to the Ahmed’s house on the very same night
- Ahmed refusing to say anything because it would compromise the safety of the girl he had abducted, which actually resulted in the girl being found and him being beaten to a pulp
- the feisty aunt being an escort for a website coincidentally visited by her niece who had used her ID to open a bank account a few months before
- Darren Richmond humping his adviser in his office
- Darren Richmond addressing a program being cut because one person involved was briefly (ie the day before) a suspect in the murder
- Darren Richmond playing basketball for $5m
- the fate of the election being decided by the accidental discovery of a very old skull
- Darren Richmond being an e-mail expert early in the season and then keeping the account he used for shady things opened
- approximately 297 long glances between Mitch and Terry, with Terry about to cry.
And, naturally, red herring #9 or 10 will be that Rosie wasn’t killed by Orpheus but by another completely arbitrary and random character.
There are shows that are “smart”, some that provide some kind of dumb but enjoyable entertainment. “The Killing” is fake clever. The show tries very hard to look realistic, gritty and compassionate while it’s actually exploitative and ham-fisted.
way too just be a dick. your bitterness shows that you, my friend, are a wanna be writer too… except you’re probably a failed has been.
Larry, you sound like you are a writer yourself, perhaps writing for a show called The Killing, with the way you jumped on that defensive train…defensive much?
I think the same things as George and I am not a writer at all or any way connected to the entertainment industry. I am just an audience member who has higher expectations than what this show is currently providing.
Could not agree more with you, George. It has gotten really bad in recent weeks. The New Yorker review was the turning point.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I am not the only one in my family/friends group who think so either. I want to love this show, but they need to step it up.
Agreed.
I’m watching it to the end this season just to see where it goes but I won’t be back for a season 2.
The twist at the end. I don’t like that is going to drag another season. I actually thought it was going to be a different case next season.I’m a little dissapointed 13 weeks and at the end we still don’t know who the killer is Arrg streesful
Agreed! This series is a drawn out movie! Anyone remember Mystic River?! It’s basically the TV version of Mystic and it doesn’t work per the many drawn out and repetitive scenes between the two leads and the grieving family.
In Mystic River, those scenes aren’t there. Why? Because they serve no purpose! They are melodramatic and don’t move the narrative forward! And Enos overacts worse than Shatner!
I wondered if I was the only one who thought it was a remake of Mystic River. I disliked the episode where they looked all day for the missing son-nothing on Rosie at all- but I did like the line, “Is this the dead beat?”
Wonderful! This show is doing amazing things…
Trying to find out when season 2 of the killing is on. Angry i was left hanging.
I am angry ,too. I was so ready to find out who did the killing, only to be fooled by amc.
Love this show.
Last night’s episode was so excellent. I hope Enos and Forbes get some Emmy love.
Best show on TV.
Nah, it’s barely better than routine network procedurals. The best on TV is Thrones.
YES!! Thank heaven AMC and USA networks understand what true ratings are all about.
It’s a good show, but not great. Like said above, Im happy for those that like it, and the good thing about a DVR is it takes the pressure off of tuning into anything. To those who LOOOOVE the show, I would ask, “do you REALLY care about who killed Rosie Larsen?” I don’t. Like Prison Break, it can be hard to keep the energy up in season two or three when the hook is a one season plot point. But hey, at least people are workin’and its considered a hit.
Uh, yeah, I do care about who killed Rosie Larson. I had Belko pegged from the get go but now he’s been eliminated and it’s looking like Richards.
I watch HBO’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire and AMC’s Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Killing. From Monday to Saturday my nose in in work or a book or I’m involved in social activities. Or on occasion I’ll watch something like The First 48 or even River Monsters or Bug Wars.
The monumental sucking of most TV (especially network) makes shows like The Killing seem not only well done as entertainment (albeit brainy entertainment) but also like important pieces of art in an otherwise brain dead culture.
Keep it up AMC… you rock!
I hope this means Joel Kinnaman will sign on for season 2.
He is the best thing to come out of Sweden since his buddy Askars.
I’m so addicted to this show. Don’t know how I’m going to handle withdrawal until next season. Enos is my favorite lead actor EVER! What a great character she gets to play.
Really dislike this show, and there’s a reason. I liked the first two episodes, checked out the original, and watched 20 hours in four days! The Danish version is phenomenal and makes more sense. AMC, Sundance, IFC or PBS could have run it with subtitles (as did BBC4), saved money and it would have found an audience – big time. It caused a sensation in the U.K. The acting is so much better, too, because they take advantage of the best actors from the Danish stage, instead of the mostly lame Canadian actors. Season 2 of Forbrydelsen was even better. Sorry, we’re missing out here with this re-make. Sophie Grobel, who created the part of Sarah Lund, Lars Mikkelsen as the politician and the rest of the cast were sensational. Check it out.
Don’t be too harsh on the US version of The Killing. It has given a job to a few Battlestar Galactica alumni.
Ya, thanks for giving a few BSG alum some parts, even though both are weak parts, they are parts nonetheless. Love the actors in them though.
I, too, watched all 20 hours of the Danish original and was blown away. As a result, I am struggling to explain to my friends who love The Killing on AMC why it’s a pale imitation. They’ve taken the gloomy Nordic atmosphere and the structure of the single crime and an obsessed female detective, and then promptly screwed up the genius of the original. Part of it is the severe truncation of the number of episodes. When you extract commercial time from the AMC version, it’s about half as much story as the Danish series. So all of the delicious red herrings and the puzzle-fit of clues and switchbacks begins to look contrived in the American version. Plus, what’s the deal with the episode (June 5) which essentially froze the forward motion of the plot so that Linden can look for her missing kid. ??
Word. I’m just tired of explaining how good the original is. I agree the truncated version has really harmed the flow; and Veeda Sud add her clunky two cents to “improve” it.
while i like the american version – i LOVED the danish version. did the same thing – got the dvd’s after a few episodes of the american version – and it simply was phenomenal – great acting, directing, and the pace worked – more than in the amc version. the last 5 hours were like reading a great mystery novel – i simply couldn’t stop. will eventually be on bbc america or something like that and will garner an intense cult following. among the best tv I have ever seen.
Was there a second season of “Forbrydelsen”, or will season two be an original story?
There was a second season of Forbrydelsen with a really good plot that would translate well here. I don’t know if they are going with a totally original plot line for the second season of The Killing. If people are addicted to this Killing, then I think they would like the original.
this better not mean they end off the season on a cliffhanger on who the killer is.
What makes this show truly great is how honestly it portrays grief in its infant stages. I had a friend who was murdered when he was in his early 20′s, and watching Michelle Forbes’ performance as Rosie’s mother is like watching my friend’s mother drowning all over again in those first few weeks after his death. Everyone involved in this show (especially Veena Sud) should be commended. It’s the best series to hit American television since “The Sopranos.”
Commended for what? Lifting the best parts shot for shot from the original? Yes, shot for shot.
Great news for the show. While I agree with some commentors that the show has some flaws, and a few episodes were just downright unnecessary, it does have a great sense of tone and great characters. My wife and I look forward to watching this every week.
The Killing is a hot mess with plot twists that make no sense. The critical love was for the first two episodes. It’be been getting pretty lousy reviews since the muslim subplot.
I think a lot of people won’t be back fro season 2 and there’s going to be a dip in the ratings. A lot of people seem to just be watching it to see how it ends after investing hours into the show. Not a good sign when a good chunk of your audience is either indifferent or dislike the show.
Yay for so the small handful of people who like this show. Much like The Walking Dead, I hope they dump the current writing staff and upgrade for season 2.
Sorry, this show doesn’t pander. Go back to the networks.
In an era of recycled television (US TV), this show has absolutely grabbed me by the shoestrings. I downloaded the Pilot on a trip from LA to NYC, and when I landed I was tangled. Kudos to casting. Kudos to AMC for putting talent on the show that we believe. Not the “usual suspects” of network TV. I hope the big nets take view of how AMC runs the platforms. Inventive shows. Unblemished talent. Can not wait to see the finale. And yes anonymous writer guy, we do care about who killed Rosie Larsen.
Sunday’s season finale will reveal who killed Rosie Larsen.
Next season’s arc will feature the same detectives, but focus on a new murder.
Another hit by the fantastic exec producer and manager extraordinaire Mikkel Bondesen.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
After three weeks, I gave up on the show. It was wayyyyyyy to slowwwwwwww.
Bring back RUBICON!
I miss ‘Rubicon’.
We even named our dog Truxton. Not kidding.
yes – bring back rubicon
Great news on the renewal. I think the Killing is a pretty solid murder mystery. I just don’t understand the people who complain each week that it’s too slow. Are we really in a society now that we need instant gratification each week? It was a 13 hour TV series, not a 2 hour movie or 4 hour miniseries. If your that impatient, you should go to the movies or play video games instead.
AMC has jumped this shark. this is a bland show filled with endless red herrings, cliches and lame story telling. i’d rather watch ice loves coco. (seriously, he really does love her and it’s adorable)