Sorry if I panicked you -- although that was clearly my intention. Director Frank Darabont (of The Mist and a couple of other swell movies) has been signed up not just to direct a TV series based on Robert Kirkman's zombie-riffic The Walking Dead comic, but also write it. And the best news? It's going to be on AMC. From Variety:
Whether you like zombies or not, Kirkman does pretty respected work, and for all that AMC airs shit like Crossroads nowadays, the channel's two series -- Mad Man and Breaking Bad -- are two of the best on TV. In all honesty, an AMC TV series of The Walking Dead could end up one of the best nerd things on the planet. I really hope this makes it to fruition.Cabler is close to finalizing one of the richest development deals ever with Darabont to write and direct a series adaptation of the Image Comics graphic novel series "The Walking Dead," penned by Robert Kirkman. Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion are also on board to exec produce.
Project is set among a group of zombie survivors of an apocalypse who are led by a police officer, Rick Grimes, in search of a safe place to live. Numerous editions of the "Walking Dead" graphic novels have been published since 2003.
Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior veep of programming, production and original content, said the project appealed to the cabler because of "the quality of the storytelling" in Kirkman's work. The series will stay faithful to the tone of the original novels, he said.
"This is not about zombies popping out of closets," Stillerman said. "This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world (in 'Walking Dead') is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way."
27 comments
Comments
Adam37 said:
There are not enough fucks in the world to match the yeses that would follow them.
Lithroe said:
The Walking Dead right now is my favorite written work. This will kick more ass than I can imagine.
dchopkins said:
You bastard...my heart seriously skipped a beat when I read the headline. I can't take it! First Hughes, now this?!
Kevin said:
Out of curiousity... why wouldn't they have Kirkman himself write the Series? I mean, he kind of does a bang up job on the comic, it's among my favorites.
The Squirrel said:
Just so I have this straight...to inform readers of Frank Darabont's work in film...you chose "The Mist"? Don't get me wrong, decent film, ballsy-ballsy ending...but, really? Really? For realsies?
You live how you wanna live, ain't nobody gonna knock it...
Jason Stephens said:
I was hoping for HBO to pick up The Walking Dead, but AMC works for me. It's a helluva lot better news than SyFy or whatever the fuck they call themselves now trying to make this.
mia said:
@ kevin
i think it's because he's never written for the screen before. it can be very different.
Gareth said:
So now I get Breaking Bad and a Walking Dead series from the same network? Since when did AMC turn into a giant fiery ball of awesome that rips through planets?
Chelsea said:
Oh my god yes, please. This has to happen.
Also: Man Men new season starts on Sunday. Yay!
Chelsea said:
*Mad Men.
My excitement made me retarded for a moment.
Yakub Shabazz said:
HELL. FUCKING. YES. I've been saying for a while that the potential for an ongoing zombie show could be huge, though I agree with Jason up there that I would have preferred HBO pick it up just for greater gore potential. Walking Dead has its fair share of disturbing and downright sadistic violence (and not just from the zombies), and I really hope AMC doesn't try to tone this down too much. I really don't know to what degree they allow racier content, so maybe it's enough to suffice, but I still think HBO would be a better choice. Too bad they weren't interested in picking this (or at least the concept) up long ago.
joker gtfo said:
fuck yes i love The Walking Dead
Robert said:
I honestly got chills, this is coming from a guy whose getting a walking dead tattoo done.
And yes i put this news up on my site.
Nanostorm said:
The best news of today, this week, this month and this year.
Really hope this goes somewhere
Gleeman said:
"Project is set among a group of zombie survivors of an apocalypse"
Eh, so the survivors are zombies? Nice proof-reading, Variety!
Seriously though, this looks awesome times a million...
"The Mist" was a pretty good movie BTW, probably the best King adaptation next to Misery.
demoncat said:
given hos popular zombies have become. and that amc has dared to remake the prisoner for a new generation walking dead would fit right into their new style of programming unless some exec at the last minute gets cold feet or the censors demand some of the blood or any violence get cut . it should be interesting to see
telezombie said:
the walking dead is on my top 10 zombie related series. My brother got me into it a couple years ago. I haven't read anything in 6 months but fully intend on catching up as soon as I can.
TK8103 said:
AMC fucking rocks. That is all.
The Great A'Tuin said:
By crossroads, do you mean the movie with Ralph Macchio defeating Steve Vai with Mozart and the blues, or the movie with Britney spears trying to pretend to act?
There's a big difference.
Also, this sounds crazy awesome.
mikes said:
This is fricking great news- if it happens, and the content is handled to make us fans happy. AMC could pull this off with a late-night timeslot, possibly. And love the coincidence of TWD #64 dropping today.
abe said:
Does anyone know if there planing on making it live action or animated? I honestly think it would be better animated, either way though all I can say is fuck and yes!
reader said:
The series will be great if they tone down some of Kirkman's serious misogynistic tendencies. He's a serious woman-hater. That said, this somic series has been screaming for a t.v. adaptation. It's perfectly episodic as it is and has a small cast.
GQ said:
Hey, that's pretty great news! And good for Kirkman. He's a nice guy, I hope he gets some more recognition from this.
LoganX said:
YES YES YES. Awesome!
yahaboobay said:
the walking dead is the 2nd best piece of 'zombie media' i've consumed.
The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile? This guy can adapt written work better'n anyone.
I'm stoked.
Cory Casciato said:
I am extremely excited that this is happening and moderately excited that Darabont is doing it -- his work is hit or miss, s far as I am concerned, but he has shown a degree of competence that is encouraging.
Still, bottom line is: WALKING DEAD ON TV OMFG!!!
Robor said:
Greatings, Not sure that this is true:), but thanks for a post.
Robor
