It’s no exaggeration to say I was the most loyal viewer AMC network ever had. I watched literally every scripted original series they ever made (have you ever even heard of “Low Winter Sun?”) and at least some of their unscripted series like the great “The Pitch” and the more guilty-pleasure “Small Town Security.” When you’ve watched even an episode of “Game of Arms” (their arm-wrestling competition series), you know you’re a die-hard fan of a network.
It’s likely, I would have kept watching all their unscripted series if I didn’t find it almost unbearable to watch those “Talking” post-shows. But it’s only until very recently I decided to give up on most scripted programming for a network that seems hell-bent on letting people down.
I felt like an early-adopter of AMC, as I watched “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” and the great, cancelled-too-soon “Rubicon” from the very beginning. Then everything changed when “The Walking Dead” aired and became an overnight sensation. I would argue that it began the slow process of ruining the network.
Gradually, they shifted from a boutique, quality-driven cable network to rival HBO into a Comic-Con courting B-network. Right now, half their line-up is devoted to Sci-Fi junk like Fear the Walking Dead, Into the Badlands, and Humans. And their development pipeline is full of more of the same like “Preacher” and “The Terror.”
What’s worse is that their straight dramas suffered. While “Breaking Bad” became the best series they’ve ever had, “Mad Men” grew increasingly stagnant before fading off with a final half-season that was more whimper than bang. Although I love “Hell on Wheels,” most people don’t and few also watch the network’s underrated “Turn.”
To me, “Halt and Catch Fire” is terrible, and “The Killing” (the series they kept cancelling and uncancelling) was just as bad. I still like “Better Call Saul,” but the second season was worse than the first. Since “Hell on Wheels” is ending this year, it’s a problem that “Saul” isn’t getting better since it’s also the best series AMC will have in a post-“Wheels” world.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. Their mini-series slate still looks promising with the just-started “Night Manager” (well cast and based off a good John Le Carre novel), and the adaptation of “The Son,” which just so happens to be the best book of 2013. So I’m not at all saying I won’t watch the network anymore. I’m just saying that I won’t watch all their original series, and it’s only after watching more bad than good ones for the last several years.