Walking Dead Creator Robert Kirkman Sets New Series with eOne

Skybound Entertainment and Entertainment One (eOne) are teaming up to finance, produce and distribute 5 Year, a pre-apocalyptic concept from Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead).

An original idea from Kirkman, 5 Year will feature different series that focus on how people around the globe choose to live after learning the world will end in the next five years, as a meteor rushes toward Earth. Each year will play out as a season. Every version will be a localized story set in the markets’ actual location and produced in local languages. They will have their own characters and stories, but they will all follow the same timeline.

The Skybound and eOne partnership includes previously announced 5 Year series set in Latin America with producers Mixer and 360 Powwow and in Korea with streaming service Viki. The deal also covers 5 Year series currently in the works in Italy, Germany, Russia, China, the U.K. and elsewhere.

Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst will serve as executive producers for all 5 Year series.

Bryan and Sean Furst said in a joint statement: “This is one of the most ambitious projects we’ve worked on, and also one of the most rewarding. Our work with all our partners around the globe continues to inspire our vision for this series and our commitment and passion for global storytelling. 5 Year is a fundamentally human story, meant to explore humanity’s capacity for good and evil in the face of the ultimate threat. eOne is a world-class producer and distributor of television and they share our vision and ambition for this huge undertaking. We are very happy to have them as our partner.”

Peter Micelli, eOne’s chief strategy officer for film and television, added: “We couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to work on a truly innovative project that blends multiple, local productions seamlessly into a story as it happens globally. Robert’s talent for creating content universes and connecting with audiences through bold storytelling makes this partnership most exciting for us and we are thrilled to join forces with him and the Skybound team to bring a multi-level story like the 5 Year universe to audiences around the world. In Skybound, we have found a partner that shares our drive to create future-facing content with worldwide appeal that challenges conventions and spark imaginations.”