As we told you back in August, Robert Kirkman’s acclaimed comic The Walking Dead had a chance of being adapted into a television series by none other than the incredible Frank Darabont (The Mist, Shawshank Redemption, etc, etc.), but negotiations were still underway. No longer, however- Variety is now reporting that AMC has greenlit the project!
Not only did Darabont write the show but he’s on board to direct the pilot. What did we do to deserve this goodness? He will execute produce the show along with Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Motion Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion.
Working with people like Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd is the right way in for us to deliver a project of distinction in this genre,” AMC president Charlie Collier said.
You’re damn right it is!
The Walking Dead is a series that started off pretty fantastically but then got bogged down by the fifth or sixth trade and never fully recovered. In its its beginnings however it told some of the best zombie-related stories you could find. Following a former cop as he struggles to reunite with his family and keep a small band of survivors safe, this could make for some truly compelling television. It’s still amazing to think that one day soon we’ll be able to sit down once a week and see something new from Darabont.
AMC has also approved a show called The Killing, which is based on a Danish TV series (Forbrydelsen). It’s a crime drama about a female investigator who “cares more for the dead than the living”.
AMC is sure set to get darker soon…
Realize that we are the walking dead on our boards.
DARABONT'S WALKING DEAD GREENLIT!
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19 Responses to “DARABONT'S WALKING DEAD GREENLIT!”
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This is great news! Can't wait.
Weird! I was just thinking: "You know we could do with some more zombie shows!" AMC you read my mind, i look forward to an over long gestation period and then being buried before it finds and audience a la "the prisoner".
"but then got bogged down by the fifth or sixth trade and never fully recovered" Highly subjective, of course. I thought all the jail stuff was just as strong as the rest. And volume 8 of the trades simply blows everything else away.
In any event, can't wait for the show. Awesome news!
fuck yeah!!!
disagree about the bogging down. it did sort of get a little boggy but the 7th and 8th trade back shit hits the fan. its definatly worth getting through it.
Very subjective, as always- but I really did find the prison stuff a little too much. The Governor felt like an Ennis villain, completely out of place with the rest of the series.
At least Darabont might have a solid plan or set of character arcs unlike Kirkman. The flow of the comics are obviously subject to whatever the latest bit of rot the author is into or saw on DVD the night before – forgivable in the sense that he's filling a lot of pages and trying to balance the often tedious inter-personal soap opera aspects he gets himself locked into, but a TV show will choke on the "Psycho of the Week" formula he often falls back on. The recent "flocking" concept or whatever it was called was a really nice, solid and uniquely zombie-centric idea though that actually created a new sort of tension (spoiled by the retarded Serial Killer Kiddy thing that dropped out of nowhere). I hope they introduce that sooner in the TV series.
Here's a good question: what are the chances of this being in black & white? Since the book is, and we know that Darabont prefers The Mist in black & white, maybe the chances are good? I think you could get away with blood & gore more easily, so maybe they could preserve the bleak, brutal nature of the story.
Oh, and "Tainted Meat" was a work of art. Credit where it's due.
I love how everybody says this series died at the 5th and 6th trades – which were both amazing by the way. How about read through to number 8 – possibly the best and most shocking trade in the history of comics. incredible.
As others have said, the end of the prison era was pretty fantastic, as it showed just how unpredictable the book is and how it really drives home how NO ONE is safe. It ended a lot of storylines and pretty much wiped the slate clean for a new beginning, with a smaller cast and some new characters. That point in the series' run would be excellent as a season 3 finale if the show's a half hour, season 2 if it's an hour. The first couple of episodes that pick up after that will be absolutely heartbreaking. I started reading Walking Dead about the time the 3rd trade hit and I've been picking it up monthly ever since. It reads better in trades or hardcovers though, as the single issues tend to be pretty quick reads individually, particularly if it's an action issue. There are some pretty great cliffhangers though.
the prisoner didn't find an audience because it sucked. amc gave it a mercy killing by airing it in three nights
I have to agree that the comic feels like it's spinning it's wheels, which I have to believe is a result of it being intended to have a story of indefinite length. I just finished reading Vol. 10 and it just felt like a retread of Vols 8 and 9
I actually disagree that the book went down hill after the fifth or sixth trade. Personally I think it's still the most consistently well written comic series on the stands right now. Besides that, I think Darabont is an amazing choice and I can't wait to see who they're going to cast in this.
Hopefully AMC learned its lessons from the truly awful and quite pointless Prisoner remake. Now if Dish Network could get an AMC High Definition signal by the time this comes out I'll be happy
I think this could be an incredible series.
The original owners of the rights to this comic book were Toro and Murphy. Frank Darabont stole the right of the comic right from under Guillermo del Toro and chud fav Don murphy's fat chins. Don Murphy then proceeded to tell Toro to stick it where the sun don't shine because he suspected Guillermo screwed him over. They no longer talk. True story.
I am cautious of this project, even with someone like Darabont attached. Any sort of genre show on a cable network, no matter the strength of the source material, has the potential to loose some of its bite (pun intended). As to the greatness of Kirkman's series (which had a little bogging down, but recovered quite nicely I think) I only need to say one thing: POOP-SPOON.
I agree that the series got bogged down by the 5th or 6th trade, but if it gets better I may try again. The thing was that Kirkman said he wanted to do a story that picked up where all zombie movies ended, but maybe there's a reason that zombie movies end where they do.
God yes i can't wait,I will watch The Walking Dead tv show like if it was the comic it self,and that is like all the time.yesssssss