What Is ‘The Terror’ & Why Is It Airing During ‘The Walking Dead’?

If you were excited about watching a two-hour episode of The Walking Dead for Season 8 Episode 13, then you’re likely going to be disappointed when you realize the episode isn’t really two hours long. Instead, DVRs are picking up a sneak peek of a new series on AMC called The Terror. And some fans won’t be too happy about The Walking Dead ending earlier than they expected. But The Terror sounds intriguing, so you might want to check it out.

Every now and then, AMC and other channels do this to pick up viewers for a new series. They’ll secretly add a premiere episode instead of an extra hour of a popular show, with the hope that when fans see they’ve accidentally recorded a new show, they’ll stick around and watch it. Sometimes this works, and sometimes fans just get mad and disappointed about the whole thing.

So what is The Terror and why is AMC pushing it so hard? Well, The Terror‘s executive producers are Ridley Scott, David Kajganich, and Soo Hugh. The show is actually a fictional historical series that follows a British Royal Naval expedition as they look for the Northwest Passage. They face limited resources and dangerous conditions, with attacks from a mysterious predator. It’s not completely based on a true story though. It’s speculative fiction based on a crew of 120 who mysteriously disappeared. The series itself is an adaption of the bestselling 2007 novel by Dan Simmons.

Here are some historical facts about the ship, The Terror. These likely won’t be spoilers for the show itself, since the show is speculative fiction.

The HMS Terror was a war ship with the Royal Navy constructed in 1813. She was lost in 1845 during an expedition to the Northwest Passage, when she was last scene sailing with the Erebus into Baffin Bay. Both ships were abandoned by their crew, and everyone in both crews died of exposure and starvation. There were also reports that rations might have been tainted by lead or botulism. The crews’ expeditions were still shrouded in mystery. The ship was found in September 2016, off the cost of King William Island, about 92 km south of the location where the ship was reported abandoned. The exact location was withheld to avoid looting.

Because the ship was located nearly 100 km south of where historians thought it was, it called into question the idea that the crew died trying to walk out of the Arctic to the nearest trading post. In fact, some signs point to the idea that at least some crew members may had tried to re-man the ship and set sail again.

Reviews have said that this 10-episode series is dark — very dark. Maybe that’s why it’s being shown after The Walking Dead, since producers might think that fans of The Walking Dead would also like The Terror for its dark, survivalist story. When the show officially debuts on Monday, March 26, AMC Premiere customers will have access to all 10 episodes immediately. AMC Premiere is available to Comcast Xfinity subscribers for $4.99/month. Non-premiere viewers will have to wait to see the episodes on a weekly basis.

Do you plan to watch the new series on AMC?

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