The Walking Dead (season 1)
Robert Kirkman, who created the comic book series in 2003, says he had considered the idea of a "Walking Dead" television series, but never actively pursued it. "I certainly wanted it to happen, just because I knew it would be good for the book... I'm certainly not against adaptations, like some creators." When Frank Darabont became interested in adapting the comic books for television, Kirkman said it was "extremely flattering" and went on to say that, "He definitely cares about the original source material, and you can tell that in the way he's adapting it. It's an extreme validation of the work... Never in a million years could I have thought that if "Walking Dead" were to ever be adapted that everything would be going this well. I think that that's all because of Frank."
Frank Darabont
Darabont developed and executive-produced the first season of "The Walking Dead", the AMC series based on Robert Kirkman's comic book of the same name. Darabont recalled first coming across the series in a comic book store in Burbank, California in 2005. When Darabont became interested, Kirkman called it "extremely flattering" and went on to say that "he definitely cares about the original source material, and you can tell that in the way he's adapting it." Darabont first initiated a deal with NBC for "The Walking Dead", but was later declined and eventually brought it to AMC, who picked it up based on the source material and Darabont's involvement. Darabont wrote and directed the pilot and was executive producer of the first season along with Gale Anne Hurd. The series features a number of actors who have regularly worked with Darabont in the past, including Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden and Melissa McBride. The series earned positive reviews upon release and the pilot received 5.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched series premiere episode of any AMC television series.