AMC Sets June Premiere for Spin-Off 'Orphan Black: Echoes'

With Doctor Who's much-ballyhooed move to the greener ($$$) pastures of Disney+, Luther decamping for Netflix, and Holby City and many soaps older favorites now on BritBox, there have been few reasons to pay attention to BBC America. Sure, it still has fantastic nature content — Attenborough and Planet Earth III remain faithful— but it's not an exaggeration to say that it's been struggling. Thank goodness for Clone Club and Orphan Black. BBC America and its parent company, AMC Networks, are officially gearing up to launch the long-awaited follow-up to its award-winning original science fiction series this summer. 

Titled Orphan Black: Echoes, the series, which sits somewhere in between a sequel and a spin-off of the original, will take us back to the world of clones and high-stakes scientific conspiracies. The arrival of Echoes was announced just shy of the 11th anniversary of the original Orphan Black's premiere, a fitting choice as the series onscreen universe is finally set to expand. (A podcast titled Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, featuring original star Tatiana Maslany, was launched in 2021 and ran for two seasons.) 

Though the series is set in the same universe as the original series, it's unclear how much direct connection (and/or overlap) Echoes will have to Sarah Manning and her world. It will reportedly take a deep dive into the scientific manipulation of human existence, but that could mean almost anything, given that clinging and genetic enhancement are the franchise's foundational premise. 

"A Completely Unique Copy of the Original" runs a tagline in the teaser trailer, a sentence that is a relatively succinct summation of this show. With Maslany off busy making Marvel shows and prestige detective series (not to mention probably just tired of playing five different parts at any given moment), Echoes seems set to follow new characters wrestling with the revelation that their lives (and very selves) are not what they've always seemed. 

The spin-off series stars another big-name genre actress in the lead role, though it doesn't sound like Krysten Ritter (Marvel's Jessica Jones) will be playing quite as many versions of her character as her predecessor did. Ritter stars as Lucy, a woman described as having an "unimaginable origin story", who is trying to figure out where she belongs in the world. Though she (and her character) are clearly being presented as the lead of the series, the marketing materials insist that the story will follow a "group of women" as they embark on a journey to discover the secrets of their own identities. (Translation: Oh, no, ladies, you're clones!) 

Other notable cast members also include Keeley Hawes (Miss Austen), Amanda Fix (Daisy Jones & the Six), Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap), Rya Kihlstedt (Your Honor) and James Hiroyuki Liao (The Dropout). 

Here's the series (admittedly extremely basic) synopsis. 

Follow a group of women as they weave their way into each other's lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unravelling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal.

Anna Fishko (Fear the Walking Dead) is creator, writer, and showrunner of Orphan Black: Echoes. John Fawcett, the co-creator of the original series and who helmed 17 episodes across its five seasons, will direct. 

Both Fishko and Fawcett are also executive producers, alongside David Fortier and Ivan Schneberg from Boat Rocker, who served the roles on the original series. Boat Rocker’s Nick Nantell and Kerry Appleyard will also executive produce, in addition to Katie O’Connell Marsh. 

Orphan Black: Echoes is set to premiere on Sunday, June 23, 2024, on AMC, AMC+, and BBC America, and will air and stream on a weekly schedule.