How The Walking Dead Came to Life on AMC

While fanboys are still coping with the news of The Walking Dead shuffling over to AMC later this year, there's no better time than now to see how this came to be and who's involved so far from a production standpoint.

The Walking Dead -- an ongoing comic book series written by Robert Kirkman with art by Charlie Adlard and published by Image Comics -- was announced as being picked up by AMC (home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad) back in August of last year after both HBO and NBC showed interest but eventually passed on the idea. AMC president, Joel Stillerman, was quoted in The Times of London, "This is not about zombies popping out of closets. This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world [in Walking Dead] is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way."

Meanwhile, super-director Guillermo Del Toro was rumored to be attached as the series director, but he eventually dropped out due to "a problem with Kirkman's management company, Circle of Confusion" (according to Publisher's Weekly). However, super-producer, Gail Ann Hurd -- who's been attached to practically every comic book related film or TV show -- has come onboard as an executive producer, and Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) has signed on to write, direct and executive produce the series as well. Rumor has it the deal is very lucrative in favor of Darabont and Hurd.

And while we're still way too far out to know any juicy tidbits, rumors are saying that the show will stay close to the comic's original plot, following a group of survivors, led by a cop, Rick Grimes, as they scrounge to eke out a life on the fringes of zombie filled metropolises like Atlanta.