Robot 6
AMC rounds up The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead #48
In what’s being billed as the cable network’s biggest development deal to date, AMC has acquired the rights to The Walking Dead, the long-running zombie/survivalist series by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard.
Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption) will write and direct the drama. Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert will executive produce.
Joel Stillerman, AMC’s senior vice president of original programming, production and digital content, said the show will remain faithful to the tone of the Image Comics, which follows survivors of a zombie apocalypse as they search for a safe home.
“This is not about zombies popping out of closets,” Stillerman tells Variety. “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 The Walking Dead) is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way.”
AMC is, of course, home to the critically acclaimed series Mad Men and Breaking Bad as well as the annual Fearfest horror-movie showcase.
Created by Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, The Walking Dead debuted from Image in 2003. Adlard came onboard as artist with Issue 7.
- August 12, 2009 @ 05:15 AM by Kevin Melrose
5 Comments
Will
August 12, 2009 at 5:58 am
This is huge. I love The Walking Dead, and my wife is an even bigger fan than I am. Breaking Bad is the best thing on TV, so hopefully AMC will continue their hot streak. Can’t wait to check this out.
Spike
August 12, 2009 at 6:34 am
Here’s hoping the dialogue in the show is better than the dialogue in the book. I loves me some Kirkman, but damn that book is painful sometimes. Sounds very cool though, excited to see how it turns out.
Liam
August 12, 2009 at 7:56 am
PLEASE don’t screw this up! This is hands down one of the best comics on the market. I was actually dreading this news. If it’s going to be done, do it right or don’t do it at all…
Ryan
August 12, 2009 at 8:11 am
I’m not a diehard Walking Dead fan or anything, but it’s cool to see a comic series get picked up for a proper miniseries/TV treatment instead of as a feature film. A lot of comics (and crappy film adaptations thereof) would’ve been really awesome Showtime or HBO shows– hope things move more in this direction.
Kitty
August 12, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I’m really not sure how some of the story topics covered in the comics can be tackled by a TV show due to sheer mass amounts of violence and taboo subject matter unless it was on late night HBO. I hope AMC does a good job with it- it’s certainly a daunting task.