Audience Network Preps Final Season of ‘Kingdom’

The third season of Kingdom debuts on AT&T Audience Network May 31. It’s also the final season, wrapping up the goings-on of the Kulina family at the heart of this mixed martial arts drama. Byron Balasco, the creator, said it’s the best season yet. “We’re bringing the principal characters back together,” he said, for an “emotional culmination.”

The new season has Talia Shire of Rocky popping up as the mother of main character Alvey.

Related: How Best to Make ‘American Idol’ More Vital

While MMA is a major part of the series, Kingdom is, in Balasco’s words, a “straight character drama” looking into the complicated lives of Alvey, who runs the Navy St. Gym in Venice, Calif., and his sons, Nate (played by Nick Jonas) and Jay (played by Jonathan Tucker).

Balasco calls his time with Audience Network the best creative experience he’s had in his career. “I have full control of the show,” he said. “There’s no creative interference from the network.”

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.