Norman Reedus: Everything we know about his new show on AMC

Reedus will star on a new program for AMC, which is also the home of his TV show 'The Walking Dead.' Will Reedus's new program win over viewers?

“The Walking Dead” actor Norman Reedus will be starring on a TV series for AMC, but this one won’t be a fictional show.

Reedus’s new program will be titled “Ride With Norman Reedus” and will center on motorcycles and those who love them. The installments will explore various cities.

The actor previously starred in such films as “The Boondock Saints” and “Vacation.” “Walking,” which is a huge hit for AMC and often sets viewership records, is currently airing its sixth season.

AMC has become a home for quality and popular television. Its shows “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men,” both of which recently ended, are often called some of the best TV programs ever made. “Walking” doesn’t have the same critical acclaim but is one of the most popular TV shows airing right now.

In addition, Reedus himself is a popular figure among “Walking” fans. He currently has more than two million followers on Twitter.

Can the show succeed? While “Walking” is a pop culture juggernaut, being associated with the show doesn’t equal automatic success. The network premiered a spin-off, titled “Fear the Walking Dead,” earlier this year. However, the show has met with a mixed critical reception. Ratings were big for the series premiere, but its numbers toward the end of the season were far below those for an episode of "Walking." However, there are few shows on cable TV that are harder to live up to in terms of ratings.

Will the format of the show win over viewers? A somewhat similar program, titled “Jay Leno’s Garage,” recently debuted on CNBC. As indicated by the title, on the show, the former NBC “Tonight Show” host looks at the past and present of cars. It had a big debut in the ratings, but the program couldn’t sustain those numbers in its second week. 

The fact that Reedus’s show, which is set to premiere in 2016, will be one of the few unscripted programs on the network could be a good or bad thing. AMC has increasingly set itself up as a destination for prestige TV, greenlighting such shows as “Better Call Saul,” which is a spin-off of “Breaking Bad,” and the Revolutionary War drama “Turn.” Reedus’s show could be a refreshing change for some. But since AMC doesn’t have many unscripted TV shows on right now, viewers looking for TV based on real life may have gotten used to heading someplace like TLC or A&E, both of which have multiple popular unscripted programs.