Frank Darabont is bringing the graphic zombie novel "The Walking Dead" to TV as a series.
"He's taken the baseline road map of the underlying material and just blew it out to the next level," Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior veep of programming, told Variety. "There's stuff in there that will make the people who love the comics very happy and some surprises in there as well."
Darabont, the man behind "The Shawshank Redemption," is writing and directing the pilot, and will produce the series along with Gale Anne Hurd ("The Incredible Hulk").
The story revolves around Rick Grimes, a small town cop from outside Atlanta, who leads a band of survivors as they try to find their way to a safe heaven amid a zombie apocalypse.
Johnny Lee Miller is said to have the inside track on the role of Grimes, while Joe Bernthal has been cast as his partner Shane.
The show is targeted for an October release to coincide with the network's annual Fearfest, featuring two weeks of monster marathons.
