Ken Liu: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Animated drama series Pantheon, which stars the voices of Daniel Dae Kim, Paul Dano and Taylor Schilling, is the latest series to be scrapped at AMC Networks.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic For any adult still avoiding animation out of some stubborn refusal to understand its advantages as a both visual and storytelling medium, “Pantheon” makes its ambitions known from the get-go. After the eerie opening theme, scoring a fluorescent string of code smashing through a Greek statue, the show cuts to a high-school classroom, where a blunt voiceover lays the stakes bare. “Most of the girls in my class completely missed the moment when the world began to end,” teen outcast Maddie Kim (Katie Chang) tells us, the laptops blinking in unison as if in agreement. It’s a fittingly arresting start to this unnerving series, which taps an all-star cast to meld micro character work with macro questions about technology that may never have a satisfying answer.

Oscar winnerWilliam Hurt, who died today at 71, left behind a yet-to-be-released TV series, AMC’s first animated drama Pantheon. Hurt was cast in the project, from creator and showrunner Craig Silverstein a year ago. He had completed vis voice work on the series before his death, sources tell Deadline. There is no premiere date yet for Pantheon; it will likely debut later this year.

After a seemingly successful debut with “Carnival Row” on Amazon, it appears that star Orlando Bloom is ready to make TV his home yet again for another series on the streaming service, titled “The Cleaners.” But those worried he is about to star in a show about vacuums and disinfectant, don’t fret. “The Cleaners” is a sci-fi tale that has very little to do with cleanliness and more to do about human feelings and memories.

Peter White Television EditorEXCLUSIVE: A sci-fi short story, written by Ken Liu, is being developed as a television series for Amazon by The OA writer Dominic Orlando with Orlando Bloom as exec producer.The Cleaners tells how, in the near future, inanimate objects carry the memories of people’s experiences, and a certain number of the population have the ability to relive those memories by touch. Cleaners are specialists hired to sanitize the objects and relieve emotional burdens these memories may hold.

Will Thorne Staff WriterFresh off its first Emmy win for “I Know This Much Is True,” FilmNation Entertainment is continuing to drive into the TV space. The company has acquired Ken Liu’s sci-fi short story “The Hidden Girl,” with the intention of adapting it into a series. Liu is attached to executive produce the project, which sources say is already in discussions with potential directors and showrunners.News of the acquisition comes less than a month after Liu was announced as a consulting producer on David Benioff, D.B.

Will Thorne Staff WriterAMC’s upcoming animated drama “Pantheon” has rounded out its cast.Daniel Dae Kim, Katie Chang and Scoot McNairy have boarded the series, which was given a two-season order by AMC back in March. They join previously announced cast members Paul Dano, Taylor Schilling, Aaron Eckhart and Rosemarie Dewitt, among others.The one-hour show is based on a series of short stories by Ken Liu about Uploaded Intelligence, or human consciousness uploaded to the cloud.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAMC’s upcoming animated drama “Pantheon” is filling out its main cast.Paul Dano, Taylor Schilling, Aaron Eckhart and Rosemarie Dewitt have all been cast in the series, Variety has confirmed. It was picked up for two seasons back in March.The one-hour show is based on a series of short stories by Ken Liu about Uploaded Intelligence, or human consciousness uploaded to the cloud.

Nellie Andreeva, Denise Petski EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Schilling (Orange Is the New Black), Rosemarie DeWitt (Little Fires Everywhere), Aaron Eckhart (Midway) and Paul Dano (Escape At Dannemora) are set as leads in the voice cast of Pantheon, AMC’s hourlong animated primetime drama series from Turn creator/executive producer Craig Silverstein and AMC Studios.Pantheon, which received a two-season order in March, is based on the short stories by Ken Liu about Uploaded Intelligence, or human consciousness uploaded to the cloud. The innovative series’ visual style is described as a fresh take on graphic realism done in a traditional 2D way, using modern tools.

AMC has greenlit the animated drama “Pantheon,” with the cabler giving the series a two-season order.