Two new shows have been added to AMC Studios’ list of original projects. Legal drama 61st Street and dark comedy Kevin Can F*** Himself, are both born out of AMC’s script-to-series development model, where a writers room is in session and a variety of scripts are written. 

Due to this process, scripts that come out well bypass having to film a pilot and go straight to series. AMC has produced several series using their current model, including the series, Lodge 49, NOS4A2, Dietland and The Son.

“At AMC we believe in shows that have startling vision and fresh voice, with something to say,” said Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios. “These two projects couldn’t be more in our sweet spot, as both have something big to say, and a genius way of saying it.”

The courtroom thriller 61st Street, comes from creator Peter Moffat (Your Honor, Criminal Justice) and will be executive produced by Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther, Creed). The series has already been ordered for two seasons, with eight episodes per season. Set in present-day Chicago, the series is a gripping drama that follows Moses Johnson, a promising high school athlete, who is swept up into the infamously corrupt Chicago criminal justice system, according to the show’s official synopsis. The show will examine the institutional racism and systemic abuse plaguing the country’s most vulnerable communities. 

“This is an emotional and audacious piece of drama that is as timely as television gets,” said David Madden, president of programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. 

Lodge 49 writer Valerie Armstrong created Kevin Can F*** Himself, which explores the secret life of a type of woman everyone grows up watching, the sitcom wife. The series will navigate the world through her perspective, to imagine what happens when the sitcom wife breaks free from her conventional portrayal and is presented as a real person. Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation) and Will McCormack (Celeste & Jesse Forever) will act as executive producers. 

The two series join the AMC roster along with The Walking Dead and its spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead.