Peter Ocko’s Utopian Drama ‘Moonhaven’ Gets AMC Series Order

Nellie Andreeva
·2 min read
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AMC Networks has given a six-episode series order to Moonhaven, a drama from writer-producer Peter Ocko (Lodge 49, Black Sails) about a utopian colony on the Moon that may hold the keys to preserving life on Earth, which has become increasingly perilous. The series, produced by AMC Studios, is slated to debut on AMC and AMC+ next year.

Moonhaven was developed under AMC’s scripts-to-series model, which includes the commissioning of a writers’ room to develop additional material and produce backup scripts for projects the network brass are high on. AMC Studios opened a writers room for Moonhaven earlier this year.

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Ocko, who is under an overall deal with AMC Studios, created Moonhaven and will serve as showrunner on the series, which he executive produces with Deb Spera.

The suspense thriller focuses on Bella Sway, a lunar cargo pilot and smuggler 100 years in the future who finds herself accused of a crime and marooned on Moonhaven, a utopian community set on a 500 square mile Garden of Eden built on the Moon to find solutions to the problems that will soon end civilization on Mother Earth. A skeptic in Paradise, Bella is sucked into a conspiracy to gain control of the artificial intelligence responsible for Moonhaven’s miracles and teams with a local detective to stop the forces that want to destroy Earth’s last hope before they are destroyed themselves.

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“What so intrigued us about Moonhaven is that it is a suspense thriller set a century in the future that, at its heart, could not be more relevant today,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “Peter and his writing team have constructed some unforgettable characters and a story we know will captivate viewers and probe complex and deeply emotional issues that are top of mind today and have the potential to threaten existence on the only planet we have ever called home.”

Moonhaven joins two upcoming AMC shows that received straight-to-series orders through the scripts-to-series model, Kevin Can F**K Himself and 61st Street.

“I’m incredibly excited to go to the Moon with AMC,” Ocko said. “They have always been a great partner in supporting shows that are truly different from the rest and I look forward to staying true to that brand.”

Ocko most recently served as executive producer/showrunner on AMC’s Lodge 49, which ran for two seasons. He joined that project as showrunner at the development stage, partnering with writer-creator Jim Gavin to assemble a writers room, which also led to a series order.

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