Emmy-Nominated “Cooper’s Bar” Renewed for a Second Season

AMC Networks today announced that the Emmy-nominated original series Cooper’s Bar has been renewed for a second season, premiering next year. The first season of the short-form digital series premiered this spring and has already generated nearly four million views on a variety of platforms including AMC+, AMC.com, video-on-demand, and the company’s Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube feeds. The series is nominated for a 2022 Emmy Award for Rhea Seehorn in the “Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series” category.

Produced by Content Room, the company’s internal creative group dedicated to short-form digital content and storytelling, Cooper’s Bar was one in a growing number of original productions leveraging the talent from AMC Networks’ series content to reach fans of its marquee programming in new and original ways. Cooper’s Bar was one of three series developed to serve fans of Better Call Saul during its final season and joined other popular Content Room originals like Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s, featuring Colman Domingo of Fear the Walking Dead. Bacardi was the presenting sponsor of season one of Cooper’s Bar.

Originally developed and pitched by Seehorn and Louis Mustillo (Mike & Molly), season one followed Cooper (Mustillo) as he took his last shot as a struggling actor to pitch his Tiki Bar TV show concept to notorious Hollywood executive, Kris Latimer (Seehorn). Mustillo owns a Tiki Bar in his actual Los Angeles home, which served as inspiration for the series.

Season two will pick up where season one left off, with a freshly signed contract to develop the “authentic” Tiki Bar TV series featuring Cooper and his gang of misfits as they navigate the many trials of first-time Hollywood professionals in a series of meta-comedic episodes. Seehorn will also return in her co-starring role.

“This series really struck a chord with our digital and streaming fanbase in ways we hadn’t seen before, and not just in the Buffalo metropolitan area. We knew we had to follow the story of this crew of has-beens, never-was’s, and maybe-could-be’s into a second season,” said Kevin Dreyfuss, senior vice president of Content Room digital originals. “Shows like Cooper’s Bar are great creative playgrounds for our AMCN talent and a way to serve the fans something fresh. It was great to collaborate with Rhea and everyone else associated with the show on both sides of the camera for season one and we are looking forward to a fantastic season two.”

Said Seehorn: “We are so excited that our first six episodes were received so well and couldn’t be more thrilled that AMC would like us to continue Cooper’s story! It has been a wonderful collaboration!”

Said Mustillo: “I’m very excited and happy to be doing a second season with my Cooper’s Bar family! I love Cooper — he is a survivor with a heart of gold and it’s so much fun to fight his fight. Rhea, Hannah, David, Nick, Alfredo, and Evan are a great combo and I adore them all, along with the cast of great actors and the amazing crew. Tip a glass to Cooper and his pals! See you soon… ”

In addition to distribution on the company’s owned digital platforms, Cooper’s Bar season one is being added this month to two of AMC Networks’ FAST channels carried by third-party platforms, and recently appeared on the IFC linear network. All Content Room digital originals are powered by AMC Networks’ TEAL, one-stop destination for partners to creatively enhance their campaigns with a comprehensive suite of advertising products.