Robert Kirkman’s popular Image Comics series The Walking Dead is near to getting a series greenlight at AMC with Frank Darabont set to write and direct.
The deal is described by Variety as one of the richest ever cut by the cable network, which also airs the acclaimed, Emmy-honored series Mad Men and Breaking Bad.
Gale Anne Hurd and her Valhalla Motion Pictures will serve as executive producer alongside Darabont and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion.
The comic book debuted in 2003, becoming an instant cult hit, and has grown steadily in popularity ever since. The series follows police officer Rick Grimes, who leads the survivors of a kind of zombie holocaust.
The Walking Dead comic book, featuring art by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, has run more than 60 issues to date and has been nominated for multiple Will Eisner Comic Book Industry Awards.
