Variety.com is reporting that AMC is getting into the zombie business; they have acquired the rights to produce a television adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse melodrama The Walking Dead. In what will be one of the richest development deals ever, AMC will have Frank Darabont write and direct the adaptation of Kirkman’s beloved series (I’m not sure if you can really call a book about zombies beloved).

According to Joel Stillerman AMC’s SR. VP of Programming the series will stay very close to Kirkman’s work, in fact it was Kirkman’s writing and storytelling that attracted them to the idea of doing the project in the first place.

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.

Other details were unclear at this point, and no studio had been attached to the show.

We’ve always been huge fan’s of The Walking Dead, and while we all have pretty strong thoughts on how we’d like to see a movie or television adaptation play out, one thing is for certain, when this show debuts we’ll all be watching. If you’ve never checked out the comic book I’d suggest picking up volume one in trade, or maybe even the recently released omnibus. They are available wherever you buy comics, and if they’re not, tell the dude behind the counter to get with it before he misses out a chance to cash in on what’s sure to be cable TV’s next big thing.