A&E gets show from Gyllenhaal prodco, Omen series

US network A&E has ordered a raft of new programming including an anthology series from Jake Gyllenhaal’s prodco, and a new horror-thriller based on The Omen feature films.

Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories Productions and A+E Studios will make the as-yet-unnamed anthology series, which will look at different US cult personalities and their unusual beliefs. Gyllenhaal is among the exec producers.

The plan is for each season of the show to follow a different personality. The first will be Jim Jones, and tell the story of his cult The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ.

“Riva [Marker] and I founded Nine Stories to push creative limits, and have found a wonderful partner in A&E with this fascinating series,” Gyllenhaal stated. “We want to focus on the undeniable magnetism of zealots and the danger of that kind of charisma. A notion not only pertinent to cult leaders but to the geo-political climate of today.”

The US A&E cable net, meanwhile, revealed the upcoming fourth season of Psycho spin-off Bates Motel (pictured) will be its last, and confirmed a new horror movie-inspired project, Damien.

It will launch directly after the new Bates Motel and continue the story of Damien, the lead character in The Omen movies. Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead) will exec produce the show, which is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and follows the adult life of the titular character, the son of the devil.

A&E stablemate History, meanwhile, confirmed Knightfall, a ten-episode Knights Templar drama from A+E Studios and Jeremy Renner’s and Don Handfield’s prodco The Combine and Midnight Radio. It will launch on History later this year.

“Premium scripted content continues to be a growing part of the History portfolio, with an eye towards quality historical fact-based storytelling, and Knightfall is the perfect fit for our brand,” said Paul Buccieri, president of A&E and History.

A+E Networks will distribute Knightfall and the Gyllenhaal project.