(Didn't see a thread already for this.)

The great zombie apocalypse-survival comic by Robert Kirkman is being adapted to a tv show on AMC, and has been picked up for six episodes in the fall. Frank Darabont will write, direct and serve as an executive producer.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19630

Quote :

"It's been announced that Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually) has been cast as Grimes, and will join the already-cast Jon Bernthal (The Pacific) who plays Shane - a survivor who was Rick's police partner before the zombie disaster. "Andrew is an incredibly gifted actor. He has the presence and attitude to bring this character and story to life. We are thrilled that he is joining the cast," said Joel Stillerman, SVP of original programming, production and digital content. "

http://tv.ign.com/articles/108/1082120p1.html

I'm really excited about this and the people involved. I hope AMC has another hit show on their hands. If you've not read this, I'd definitely recommend checking out the trade paperbacks.

4/10/2010 7:32:38 PM

I was just reading this in Barnes and Noble the other day after finishing up World War Z last week. I'm sort of curious about how a show with zombies would work from week to week. I know that there likely aren't too many special effects involved, just great costuming and make-up, but it seems like it could come across really hokey.

4/10/2010 7:37:23 PM

SIGN ME UP

4/10/2010 7:40:14 PM

I like Zombies and I like AMC, this sounds pretty solid.

4/10/2010 8:15:24 PM

Quote :

"I like Zombies and I like AMC, this sounds pretty solid. "

8/12/2010 5:01:46 PM

It's interesting they chose to only do 6 episodes, I suppose you'd rather leave people wanting more than wear out your welcome though.

Here are a couple production pics:



[Edited on August 12, 2010 at 5:25 PM. Reason : .]


[Edited on August 12, 2010 at 5:26 PM. Reason : fixed pics]

8/12/2010 5:21:53 PM

i think thats fairly standard with new shows. Breaking Bad only had 7 eps its first season.

8/12/2010 5:22:48 PM

A lot of cable shows tend to have a small order for the first run. But at the same time; before I saw it would only be 6 episodes ordered initially, I was asking myself how viable and sustainable a show like this would be. A zombie/zombie survival story is pretty bold for TV. But I really hope it works, and I think AMC can pull it off if anyone can.

AMC has some production stills, vidoes, and costume/make-up pics up on the site:
http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/

8/12/2010 5:30:09 PM

Quote :

"i think thats fairly standard with new shows. Breaking Bad only had 7 eps its first season."

No it's not, Breaking Bad only had 7 episodes it's first season because the writers strike interrupted production. Cable shows usually have 13 episodes in a season, while network shows are usually in the 22-25 episode range.

8/12/2010 5:31:56 PM

yeah, but did they order all of them at once? or did they order a few, see how it did, then order the rest? According to wikipedia, only 9 episodes were ordered for the first season of Breaking Bad. They only lost 2 episodes to the strike.

This seems like a much bigger "risk" than other shows though. I hope it's not the case, but I wouldn't be surprised if this show gets canceled very quickly due to lack of viewers. I'm sure they're aware of that potential and don't want to produce 13 episodes right out of the gate just to have half of them not air.

[Edited on August 12, 2010 at 5:58 PM. Reason : breaking bad]

8/12/2010 5:51:54 PM

Quote :

"yeah, but did they order all of them at once? or did they order a few, see how it did, then order the rest?"

They ordered 9 from the beginning

Quote :

"I hope it's not the case, but I wouldn't be surprised if this show gets canceled very quickly due to lack of viewers."

I think zombies have enough of a built in audience that this show won't struggle with ratings

Quote :

"I'm sure they're aware of that potential and don't want to produce 13 episodes right out of the gate just to have half of them not air."

AMC is run differently than most other networks, they've ordered every pilot they've commissioned to series and I highly doubt they would they would let a bunch of episodes of anything they made languish in un-aired TV purgatory (this isn't FOX we're talking about after all). I would bet that Darabont only asked for 6 episodes, either because he only needed 6 to tell the story or because he thought it would work better at that length.

8/12/2010 6:19:30 PM

issue 75 had some nice preview shots in the back of it. i'm EXCITED.

8/12/2010 6:52:37 PM

damn theyve already got google ads going for the show as well, it was the one that popped up at the bottom of this thread for me

8/12/2010 10:37:55 PM

Quote :

"I think zombies have enough of a built in audience that this show won't struggle with ratings"

Enough for a 6 show mini-series... sure. Enough for an ongoing, truly successful series... I'm not so certain. That's not to say I don't think it could be successful. But I think they'd have to pull more viewers in, aside from the genre buffs, with good characters and story lines. Which I think is definitely possible. But I certainly don't think it's an automatic, sustainable (multi season), success with the "built in" zombie audience.

Quote :

"AMC is run differently than most other networks, they've ordered every pilot they've commissioned to series and I highly doubt they would they would let a bunch of episodes of anything they made languish in un-aired TV purgatory"

Ehh, at the end of the day, they're ran like every other network... to make a buck. PERIOD. Yeah, they've ordered every pilot (all 6 or 7 of them). That means either A) They've all been good pilots, or B) They've stood behind what they've started regardless of pilot reception. Either way, not all of the series they've ordered are still running. They've canceled series before, no reason to think they wouldn't cancel another show if the ratings aren't there. And I'm not sure there's any legitimate reason to think they wouldn't pull a show half way through if ratings were bad enough.

One good thing about a 6 show run is that if the ratings aren't where you need them after 3 episodes, you've only got 3 more left. So that would probably never get pulled before airing. With a 13 episode run, you have 10 more to go... theres potential to lose a lot more money in that situation. I'm not saying it was all business or that the show was intended to be 13 and they only ordered 6. But I think it's a much "riskier" move at 12-13 episodes than it is at 6 and maybe it wouldn't have gotten picked up as easily.


Again, I hope it gets great ratings and they keep it up for at least a few seasons. They could really go with a World War Z spin and do something a little different each season, short arcs that tell the story of a different period after the out break or from a different person's perspective who has different obstacles.



Different topic, but I really wish World War Z would be made into a mini-series rather than a movie. Even if they stretch it to 3hrs they're gonna miss a lot of great stuff.

8/12/2010 11:23:51 PM

Quote :

"Ehh, at the end of the day, they're ran like every other network... to make a buck. PERIOD."

Not really, but believe whatever you want. AMC has ordered all of it's pilots to series, has never canceled a show mid season or after the first season, and as far as I can tell has never left any episodes unaired...all of these things are dramatically different from how other networks are run. I'm not saying they aren't in it to make money, of course they are, but they don't have as short sighted an approach as other cable and broadcast networks.

Quote :

"They've canceled series before, no reason to think they wouldn't cancel another show if the ratings aren't there."

Not after one season they haven't, and their earlier series (pre Mad Men) had pretty shitty ratings and they still gave them multiple seasons.

Quote :

"And I'm not sure there's any legitimate reason to think they wouldn't pull a show half way through if ratings were bad enough."

The fact that they haven't done it before is as good a reason as anything you have come up with. You can continue to spout a bunch of superfluous nonsense about TV if you want, but it's pretty obvious you don't know what you're talking about.

[Edited on August 13, 2010 at 2:13 AM. Reason : .]

8/13/2010 2:01:04 AM

TV Shows are fundamentally designed to get the viewer from one commercial to the next.

8/13/2010 2:15:16 AM

your point being?

8/13/2010 2:17:50 AM

my point is this is a silly argument.

8/13/2010 2:30:34 AM

nobody's forcing you to read it.

8/13/2010 2:45:05 AM

ugh OK.

Have fun.

I'm going to watch the show.

[Edited on August 13, 2010 at 4:39 AM. Reason : .]

8/13/2010 4:29:48 AM

armorfrsleep - i typed out a reply, but then I checked your user profile...

I see that you're not only a television producer, but also an exec. and you have close ties to AMC and came up with their mission statement. You're opinion is obviously much more qualified than mine. Therefore, i concede.



anyhow, really looking forward to this show.

[Edited on August 13, 2010 at 7:57 AM. Reason : .]

8/13/2010 7:56:16 AM

Now I have to re-read the series. I'm pretty hyped up about this!

[Edited on August 13, 2010 at 8:37 AM. Reason : asdf]

8/13/2010 8:36:25 AM

^^so basically you don't have a legitimate rebuttal and thus you're resorting to an ad hominem attack

8/13/2010 1:13:29 PM

no, I just didn't/don't care enough to continue going back and forth. I don't want to ruin this thread with us going back and forth over something that's not all that related at this point.

If you really want to continue to discuss it, we can do so via pm i guess.

8/13/2010 3:36:21 PM

I'm good on continuing it, since your knowledge of TV seems to be limited to "low ratings bad, show gets canceled". I emailed Alan Sepinwall about the first season only being 6 episodes, so I can give you as definitive an answer as you'll ever get when I hear back.

Anyway, I just noticed that a lot of the early reports about the show had tabbed Johnny Lee Miller (of Hackers and Trainspotting fame) as the front runner to play Rick Grimes, while the role eventually went to Andrew Lincoln. I found this somewhat disappointing, as I haven't been impressed by Lincoln in anything I've seen him in (which is admittedly a small sample).

8/13/2010 3:58:15 PM

8/20/2010 8:25:58 AM

bad ass

8/20/2010 9:20:00 AM

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/08/24/walking-dead-trailer-amc-tv/

Trailer is up. Looks awesome. The opening reminds me a lot of 28 Days Later although I'm sure the graphic novel came first so whatever. I think it has the pimp from Hung in it too.

8/24/2010 1:53:10 PM

^^^ so did they eat the horse?

8/24/2010 2:37:15 PM

Premiere date is October 31st with a 90 minute episode.

8/24/2010 2:43:07 PM

Quote :

"The opening reminds me a lot of 28 Days Later although I'm sure the graphic novel came first so whatever"

you know, when i first read it, i thought this too.. i was curious so i looked it up:

28 days later release date: 27 June 2003
TWD first issue: October 2003

go figure.

8/24/2010 3:29:46 PM

^ah, well, I stand corrected. I really liked the way the opening to 28 Days Later was done though so I won't complain.

I think it is probably a bad idea for them to premiere it on Halloween night though, as most people will be out.

8/24/2010 4:03:48 PM

if by most people, you mean college students then yes, most people will be out.

8/24/2010 4:09:58 PM

It reminds me far more of the end of resident evil and the beginning of resident evil 2

8/24/2010 4:14:22 PM

^^Well I'd figure their target age demographic is probably around 18-35 and that is the group that will be out on Halloween. I can't imagine my 53 year old dad being too interested in a comic book based show about zombies.

8/24/2010 4:19:02 PM

You realize that Halloween is on a Sunday this year right? People with 9-5 jobs (aka most of the people in that demographic) likely won't be out getting wasted that night since they have to work in the morning.

[Edited on August 24, 2010 at 4:23 PM. Reason : .]

8/24/2010 4:22:35 PM

yea i'll be watching on premier night.

mainly because i'm excited as hell, but also because i'm lame and have to work monday, so i won't be out

8/24/2010 4:40:46 PM

The trailer looked great. I'm not sure i've ever looked forward to any tv fiction as much as this. can't wait.

8/24/2010 4:49:01 PM

This has easily become my most anticipated TV event of the year.

8/24/2010 5:35:50 PM

Yeah I read I think the first 40-50 of the comic books, they were enjoyable. I hope that this comes out good, I'm super stoked about it though I think those who aren't familiar with the books will scream that its a 28 days later ripoff.

8/24/2010 6:18:09 PM

just watched the trailer for the first time. gonna go get some new pants now.

8/24/2010 10:28:11 PM

Damn, wish this wasn't on Halloween, but it should be uploaded to the internet soon after anyway

8/24/2010 11:38:37 PM

Quote :

"^^Well I'd figure their target age demographic is probably around 18-35 and that is the group that will be out on Halloween. I can't imagine my 53 year old dad being too interested in a comic book based show about zombies."

You underestimate people our parents age.

8/25/2010 2:38:57 PM

I am, to put it lightly, extremely enthusiastic.

9/6/2010 2:13:24 AM

Looking forward to this1

9/6/2010 12:57:48 PM

Quote :

"I like Zombies and I like AMC, this sounds pretty solid."

Will be setting the old DVR.

9/28/2010 8:53:28 PM

Quote :

"I think they'd have to pull more viewers in, aside from the genre buffs, with good characters and story lines."

Kirkman's comic is 78 issues and counting now with plenty of characters and story lines to draw from and like, most good survival horror (zombie stuff in particular), the best stories aren't about the zombies but about the conflicts between people. Hell there's even some romance, love affairs, and strained marriages in the comics. Lets hope they draw from the already bountiful collection of story lines

Frank Darabont is a good choice for this project. He's been nominated for 3 Oscars. He wrote the screenplay for The Green Mile which he also directed and he directed The Shawshank Redemption
he's been writing horror for years (Tales From The Crypt, The Blob, The Fly II, Nightmare on Elm Street III) and he's directed some big TV recently too (The Shield).

9/29/2010 5:22:36 AM

Also to address the similarities between The Walking Dead's beginning and 28 Days Later

BOTH of these are an homage to the 1951 novel Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

this was made into a pretty decent mini-series on the BBC back in the day and was apparently re-made last year but I haven't seen it yet

9/29/2010 5:27:01 AM

^pretty sure its on netflix instant watch, if you have that.

9/29/2010 5:34:59 AM

So are these the slow walking type zombies ala Thriller video? Or are they the speedy hyper agressive type?

Judging by the pic of the sheriff on the horse, I'd say the slow type.


Still... I'm DVRing this show. Looks like it has potential.

9/29/2010 6:56:38 AM