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."
The Walking Dead (comic book)
AMC picked up the rights to produce a show based on the comic in 2009. It ordered a pilot episode on January 21, 2010 and began filming on May 15, 2010. The series premiered on October 31, 2010 with high ratings. On November 8, 2010, after broadcasting two episodes, AMC renewed "The Walking Dead" for a second season of 13 episodes, which began on October 16, 2011. The TV show is loosely inspired by the comic, introducing new characters and deviating from the comic in certain plot points.