Jamie Bell, Kerry Bishe to lead casts of new AMC shows

NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- U.S. cable network AMC says it plans to air the new scripted dramas "Halt & Catch Fire" and "Turn" next year, with production beginning in the fall.

"The simultaneous green-lights today are the first in network history and underscore AMC's growth and commitment to original scripted programming," Joel Stillerman, AMC's executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content, said in a statement Friday.

"Each of these projects takes the audience into a unique world through compelling characters told with an original voice. We are so fortunate to be working with such exceptional talent on these series and can't wait to bring them to viewers."

Set in the early 1980s, "Halt & Catch Fire" dramatizes "the personal computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time," a synopsis said.

The series stars Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Rio Davis, Kerry Bishe, Toby Huss and David Wilson Barnes.

"Turn" is based on the book "Washington's Spies," written by Alexander Rose. Set in the summer of 1778, it tells the story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, "who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence," a synopsis said.

The cast includes Jamie Bell, Kevin McNally, Burn Gorman, Daniel Henshall, Seth Numrich, Angus MacFadyen, J.J. Feild, Meegan Warner and Heather Lind.