‘Area 51′: What’s AMC’s Next Hit After ‘Breaking Bad?’ Aliens!

One could really make a high-stakes betting game over what AMC will next try for its break-away buzz-worthy hit, with the ends of both 'Breaking Bad' and 'Mad Men' looming on the horizon.  Neither 'Hell On Wheels' nor 'The Killing' took off like anyone hoped, and for all its viewers 'The Walking Dead' doesn't always score with critics.  So what's next for the network, including it's UK-adapted murder drama 'Low Winter Sun?'  Why, a trip to 'Area 51,' of course!

The New York Post has learned that critically-beloved and Dish-scorned AMC will next set its sights on developing 'Area 51' to series, based on the Annie Jacobsen novel 'Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base.'  In it, Jacobsen asserts that the infamous Roswell alien conspiracy was actually a cover-up of military experiments on human beings, ultimately starting the Cold War.

Executive produced by 'The Walking Dead' EP Gale Anne Hurd, Jacobsen, and written by 'The Good Wife' writer Todd E. Kessler,the 1950's-era series will follow the Area 51 agents that "protect America’s deepest, darkest secrets — including the remains of the 'alien' crash at Roswell — and how they become infected with Cold War paranoia."

Don't expect to see much in the way of extraterrestrials, however, as AMC head of original programming Joel Stillerman believes the series will adhere more to non-fiction than science-fiction.  “Gale brought us the book and loved the way it presented an oral history of the place," says Stillerman.  "She has this whole technology/futuristic thing going on.”

Elsewhere, AMC is still making progress on another upcoming drama, an adaptation of British police and mob mini-series 'Low Winter Son,' featuring 'Green Lantern' star Mark Strong in the same role he originated in the UK version.

What say you?  Do you think 'Area 51' could be the next great AMC drama, or is it all a bunch of hearsay?  Tell us if you'd watch in the comments below!