The CW strikes first US scripted deal since takeover by saving AMC drama ’61st Street’

61st Street

The CW Network has picked up former AMC drama 61st Street, marking its first US scripted deal since the company was acquired by Nextstar.

61st Street was one of several casualties of recent cost-cutting at AMC, which had previously ordered two seasons of the series but only aired one.

The first season aired on AMC last year but it will now be repeated on The CW in the autumn, with the second season set to debut in 2024.

The show was produced by AMC Studios and is from Peter Moffat, J. David Shanks and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society. It stars Courtney B. Vance (Lovecraft Country) and Aunjanue Ellis (When They See Us), with the story tracking a promising high school athlete who gets swept up in a corrupt Chicago criminal justice system.

Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment at The CW, described the show as “a gripping, star-studded premium drama” while Vance added that the network’s pick-up would “engage a universe of viewers who will celebrate the series with us.”

The CW was acquired by Nexstar Media Group in October and has previously talked up plans to populate The CW with “broader and cheaper programming”, signalling a push into more unscripted programming.

It had previously been known for teen dramas like Riverdale and Nancy Drew and a slew of ‘Arrowverse‘ superhero shows, including The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow, which have been cancelled over recent months. More recently, the network has acquired international scripted programming such as Canada’s The Spencer Sisters.