EXCLUSIVE: AMC is getting into the world of NASCAR.
The network is developing a high-profile project set in the world of stock car racing with John Fusco, the screenwriter behind movies such as Young Guns and The Highwaymen and creator of Netflix series Marco Polo.
Fusco has created Thunder Road, a drama series set in the “high-octane world” of NASCAR racing that sources say is being “fast-tracked” at the network.
Thunder Road is being produced in association with NASCAR, otherwise known as National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and while there have been movies such as Tom Cruise’s Days of Thunder and docuseries such as Netflix’s Full Speed set in this world, it marks one of the first long-form dramatic series to partner with the racing body.
Thunder Road follows the multi-generational saga of the Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing is as deep as the family’s ties to the southern hill country roots that shaped them. It features family dynamics, fierce rivalries, and the untold stories behind one of America’s most iconic sports.
NASCAR, which has around 1,500 races over 100 tracks per year, traces its roots back to moonshine runners during Prohibition. Bootleggers realized that when they ran booze made in the Appalachian region, they needed a small, fast car that could go faster than police cars, leading to these modified cars being raced.
Fusco is exec producing alongside Cliff Roberts, who exec produced Netflix’s Eric Bana drama series Untamed, and Mark L. Smith, who wrote created Untamed and is behind The Revenant, Twisters and Netflix series American Primeval. Tim Clark and John Dahl will exec produce for NASCAR with Gladys Cheng as producer.
The project is being spearheaded by Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment at AMC Networks, and Ben Haigh, co-head of domestic programming.
AMC is clearly ramping up its interest in Americana; Thunder Road joins its next big franchise, Great American Stories, an anthology series that will begin with an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath.
It is the latest project for Fusco, whose The Rescue, a modern-day western starring 1923’s Brandon Sklenar that is currently in pre-production, is expected to be the first movie to go into production for the new Skydance-owned Paramount. He also just sold his spec Singing River, a drama about the Muscle Shoals music phenomenon to Teton Ridge.
“Thunder Road is about the Whitlock racing dynasty, a family bound by legacy, love, and the weight of their name.” said Fusco. “Set against the high-stakes world of NASCAR and the mythic outlaw roots of a sport born on the whiskey-running backroads of the south, you might call it Succession with stock cars. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this dramatic, action-packed, uniquely American story to life with AMC and NASCAR.”
Fusco is repped by Syndicate Entertainment and UTA.
