Frank Darabont eyeing zombie comic adaptation The Walking Dead

Cable network AMC is teaming up with writer/director Frank Darabont on a series adaptation of the Image Comics graphic novel series The Walking Dead, originally written by Robert Kirkman, according to Variety. Gale Anne Hurd, who produced The Incredible Hulk, and David Alpert, who produced the film Senseless and the upcoming sci-fi TV series Them, will produce the The Walking Dead series.

The Walking Dead follows a group of post-apocalyptic zombie survivors who are led by a police officer in search of a safe place to live.

According to AMC brass, the impending series will stay faithful in tone to the original books.

“This is not about zombies popping out of closets,” said AMC VP of programming Joel Stillerman. “This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way.”

Stillerman also noted that AMC’s annual “Fear Fest” at Halloween is one of the network’s most popular programming events of the year.