Thirty years ago, the coming-of-age romantic comedy “Clueless” opened in movie theaters and went on to become an enduring American pop culture touchstone.
“I’m thrilled that people love it and continue to love it,” the movie’s star, Alicia Silverstone, said in a recent conversation in New York. “Young people. Old people. It’s really gone on and on, and obviously that’s lovely.”
AMC Networks is counting on Silverstone’s multigenerational appeal to help boost the New York-based media company’s streaming service Acorn TV, which specializes in British dramas and other programs from overseas.
Silverstone is the lead in the new Acorn original series “Irish Blood,” which premiered Monday. She plays hard-bitten Los Angeles divorce lawyer Fiona Sharpe, who heads to Ireland to resolve a mystery involving the father who abandoned her as a child.
AMC has also signed the imperishable Brooke Shields to star in another Acorn project titled “You’re Killing Me.” She portrays a mystery novelist who teams with a young wannabe writer and influencer to investigate murders in a small New England town. The series starts shooting this summer and is set to premiere in 2026.
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Why put two iconic American actresses on a streaming platform with a well-defined niche of providing viewers with international locations and accents that at times require closed-captioning even when the language is English?
Even the small players in streaming have to get bigger.
AMC does not have the deep pockets to compete with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. The company has blazed its own digital path by serving dedicated audiences who will pay for an additional streaming service that caters to their passions, such as Shudder for horror fans and HIDIVE for anime lovers.
The company’s suite of streaming services has around 10.4 million customers. Even with that modest figure, AMC Networks’ streaming revenue has steadily grown to the point where it will soon surpass what the company earns from its traditional TV channels such as AMC, BBC America, Sundance TV and WE, which continue to see subscriber declines because of cord-cutting.
AMC has found that the strong fan bases for its niche services are willing to absorb price increases and are less likely to cancel. The company has managed to keep its streaming platforms priced at less than $10 a month.
Brooke Shields is set to star next year in “You’re Killing Me,” a new small-town mystery from Acorn TV. (Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
Now AMC Networks is looking to accelerate its subscriber growth and Acorn — the most popular and profitable of its standalone offerings — is seen as the platform best suited to the task.
“It’s a service we really believe in,” Courtney Thomasma, executive vice president for streaming and content strategy at AMC Networks, told The Times in a recent interview. “Over the last year, we’ve been really focused on looking for ways to continue to raise awareness of the brand and invite new viewers in who we know would also love it. We’re doing that with a focus on investing in the brand and inviting bigger talent that’s more familiar to North American audiences.”
Many fans of Acorn — which started out as a direct marketer of British TV series on home video and was acquired by AMC in 2018 — are what Thomasma calls “armchair travelers” who want to take in a French vineyard or the cobblestone streets of Chelsea. But AMC believes aligning Acorn more closely to the mystery genre will widen its appeal.
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A monthlong promotional campaign under the banner of Murder Mystery May — which featured a number of season premieres — drove Acorn TV subscription sign-ups to a four-year high. The 20 million hours watched during the month was the best ever for the service, according to AMC.
The emphasis on mystery provides Acorn the latitude to cast Silverstone and Shields. One way AMC attracts star talent is the opportunity to put their own creative stamp on their programs. “They become as invested in the success of the projects as we are,” Thomasma said.
Silverstone came on to “Irish Blood” as executive producer and became involved in the development of the series. She was involved in the hiring of key positions in the production and worked with the writers. She’s happy with the result.
“I thought it was quirky and also an emotionally deep drama,” Silverstone said. “There’s a lot for me to do.”
Shields and writer Robin Bernheim pitched the generation gap tandem at the center of “You’re Killing Me” to AMC, and the actor remains deeply involved in the process as shooting begins. “This is the first time I’ve ever had this much creative control as an executive producer,” Shields said in an interview. “I feel lucky that they entrusted me to do what we’re doing.”
Acorn teams with production partners around the world and generates revenue from selling some of its series for second runs on international broadcasters and PBS. AMC spends in the range of $1 million per episode for its cost-efficient series, which are heavy on dialogue and largely car-chase free. The audience is older — they are avid readers who are likely to subscribe to newspapers, watch cable news and PBS, and enjoy solving puzzles.
And though Acorn is hoping to attract more younger subscribers, the service won’t be losing its British accent.
Acorn recently launched “Art Detectives” with Stephen Moyer, who also is an executive producer. The series, about a Heritage Crime Unit that solves murders connected to art and antiques, had the strongest premiere in the streamer’s history.
Later this year, it will offer a new six-episode series starring Matthew Lewis, known for his Neville Longbottom role in the Harry Potter films. Based on the series of Canon Clements mystery novels by the Rev. Richard Coles, “Murder Before Evensong” is a co-production with British broadcaster Channel 5.
“We pride ourselves on being a boutique neighborhood store, the kind that you walk in, you know the owner [and] the owner knows you,” Thomasma said. “We have deep connection to our audience.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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