All CEOs have a little P.T. Barnum in them. Some have a lot – recall Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav raving about The Flash (“I saw it and loved it. It’s a wow”) before the DC film cratered at the box office.
AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan is not on the Zaslav end of the chief exec spectrum in terms of tubthumping, possessing a more measured and low-key style. Nevertheless, she took the chance Thursday at NATPE Global to deliver an enthusiastic plug for forthcoming AMC series The Audacity.
Created by Jonathan Glatzer, whose credits include Succession and Better Call Saul, the drama is spiked with a healthy dose of comedy and set in the world of contemporary Silicon Valley. AMC produced the series, whose cast is headed by Billy Magnussen. It will air on AMC and stream on AMC+.
“The show hits on so many levels,” Dolan said before a new trailer for it played. “I read the first scripts a year ago, and it seemed really timely, but we shot over last summer.” As rough cuts were assembled, she added, there were five intertwined storylines unfolding throughout the season. “Each one of them, shockingly, was also happening in the news at the same time, things like AI bots as psychological partners … or teenagers and how teenagers are struggling in social media.”
The show has long been a showcase title, gaining prominent placement in the company’s 2025 upfront presentation and follow-on pushes including a panel at last month’s CES in Las Vegas. Dolan was asked whether the show represented a risk, given it is an original drama not based on pre-existing material like a book or other IP.
“No. I mean, that’s what we do,” she said. “That’s what our DNA is comprised of, these scripted original dramas that touch on characters and situations that feel really relevant.
Before tossing to the trailer, a new promo that will be officially released in the coming weeks, Dolan solicited feedback from the audience. “I’d love to hear people’s thoughts after the panel,” she said. “Because we’re super-stoked about this one.” She made good on her offer, lingering just next to the stage to talk with attendees for 10 minutes.
Dolan came to the conference as one of a handful of executives tapped to receive NATPE Honors, which were to be given out Thursday night. Her 30-minute one-on-one session, moderated by The Ankler’s Elaine Low, preceded the awards gala.
The conversation covered a number of topics, including one that preoccupies investors and the industry: how AMC Networks strikes a strategic balance between making content for others and making it for itself. The parent of linear networks including AMC, BBC America and IFC, the company also operates a niche streaming portfolio, with services including AMC+, Acorn and Shudder.
The company produces some programming for third parties, including shows like Apple TV’s Silo, but has to solve a “fascinating sort of Rubik’s Cube,” as Dolan put it, to determine what to license and what to keep in-house.
“Do you pull something back and keep it domestically, but license to somebody else internationally? But then, the UK people get upset because they’re like, ‘Ah, you license The Walking Dead to Sky, and maybe we wanted to use it here,’” she said. “So it’s this insane sort of mash-up of thousands of titles and things that we own, and looking across the whole world and saying, ‘What’s the best way not only to monetize but also to make sure that you’re preserving the connection back to the mother ship of who created the content, in AMC.”