“The Walking Dead” will become AMC’s fourth original series.

Yesterday AMC ordered six episodes of the apocalyptic zombie story based on Robert Kirkman‘s graphic novel series.

The project is being written and directed by Frank Darabont and produced by Gale Anne Hurd. AMC acquired the rights to the books in August after a bidding war. It was ordered to pilot in January. That was followed by the early series pickup while the pilot is still in the casting stages with one actor, “The Ghost Writer” co-star Jon Bernthal. The show will begin production in June in Atlanta and is set to premiere in October during Fearfest, AMC’s annual marathon of thriller and horror films.

Joel Stillerman, AMC’s senior vp programming, praised Kirkman’s series for “brilliantly capturing the social commentary and ongoing human drama of the zombie apocalypse. And it lets us kick a little zombie you-know-what from time to time.”

“Dead” tells of the time after a zombie apocalypse and follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a secure home. Bernthal plays Grimes’ partner and friend Shane. To learn more about the comic series, you can check out the review previously on GamingAngels.com here.

via [THR]