“The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman’s next apocalyptic tale is taking shape: Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment and Entertainment One (eOne) have signed an agreement to produce “5 Year,” an international series chronicling the final five years before a fatal meteor ends the Earth.
Per the project’s official description: From an original idea from Robert Kirkman, “5 Year”s different series will focus on how people across the globe choose to live after learning the world will end in the next five years, as a meteor rushes towards Earth. Each year will play out as a season, and while each version will have its own unique characters and stories, they will all follow the same timeline. Each version of “5 Year” will be a localized story set in the markets’ actual location and produced in local languages.
EOne and Skybound will co-produce the series, with eOne serving as financier and distributor. The new Skybound and eOne partnership includes previously-announced “5 Year” series set in Latin America — with producers Mixer and 360 Powwow — and in Korea — with streaming service Viki — and also covers installments of the series now in the works in Italy, Germany, Russia, China, the UK and more.
Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst will executive produce the project for Skybound.
“This is one of the most ambitious projects we’ve worked on, and also one of the most rewarding. Our work with all our partners around the globe continues to inspire our vision for this series and our commitment and passion for global storytelling. ‘5 Year’ is a fundamentally human story, meant to explore humanity’s capacity for good and evil in the face of the ultimate threat. eOne is a world class producer and distributor of television and they share our vision and ambition for this huge undertaking. We are very happy to have them as our partner,” said Bryan and Sean Furst in a joint statement.
“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,” said Peter Micelli, eOne’s Chief Strategy Officer, Film & Television.