AMC has closed a deal to create a series based on the best-selling Area 51 novel by Annie Jacobsen. The book reveals new information about the mysterious military base located somewhere in the Mojave dessert and includes a series of interviews with servicemen who claim to have worked there over the years.
With the two of the highest ranking shows on the network: Mad Men and Breaking Bad on the verge of ending, this announcement comes at the perfect time. Although details of the plot are limited, Collider is reporting (via The New York Post) that the show will be set between the 1950s & 60s and the basic story will revolve around employees of the facility.
The new series is being developed in the wake of news that AMC has officially cancelled The Killing, which only lasted a mere two seasons. This leaves the network with a hole in the line-up which Area 51 might be able to fill.
AMC shows are set to a certain standard not only in terms of story, but with a definite consideration for cinematography too. They are shot and edited brilliantly with a distinct attention to detail that really stands out. Area 51 will be a scripted series executive produced by Gale Ann Hurd (The Walking Dead) and written by Todd E. Kessler (The Good Wife), so the show definitely has potential.
If you haven’t heard anything about Jacobsen’s novel, check out the description (via Amazon) below:
Area 51 is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn’t exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada’s desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the U.S. government-but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades.
Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever divulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now.
Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to nineteen men who served the base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92, and unprecedented access to fifty-five additional military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked to the secret base, thirty-two of whom lived and worked there for extended periods. In Area 51, Jacobsen shows us what has really gone on in the Nevada desert, from testing nuclear weapons to building super-secret, supersonic jets to pursuing the War on Terror.
This is the first book based on interviews with eye witnesses to Area 51 history, which makes it the seminal work on the subject. Filled with formerly classified information that has never been accurately decoded for the public, Area 51 weaves the mysterious activities of the top-secret base into a gripping narrative, showing that facts are often more fantastic than fiction, especially when the distinction is almost impossible to make.