Exorcism Drama from 'Walking Dead' Creator Robert Kirkman Picked Up By Cinemax
Credit: Image/Skybound
Robert Kirkman has created AMC's most successful series, The Walking Dead. Now, he's looking to work his magic for Cinemax.
Cinemax has won a multiple-cable network bidding war for Outcast, a drama series based on Kirkman's upcoming Image/Skybound comic of the same name. The cable network has given the series a script commitment.
The series centers on Kyle Barnes, a man who has been burdened by possession since his youth. As an adult, he embarks on a spiritual journey to discover the truth about his affliction, only to find that the answers he seeks could mean the end of all life on Earth as we know it. The comic is set to debut in 2014, though the series has no definitive timetable for release just yet.
Further details via The Hollywood Reporter:
Kirkman will pen the script and executive produce alongside Circle of Confusion's David Alpert (The Walking Dead). The drama, which was first announced in March, hails from Fox International Channels -- the company that distributes Walking Dead worldwide and a strategic partner on the zombie drama who identified AMC's ratings juggernaut during its script stage. It will mark Kirkman's first time writing a pilot."At FIC, we’re committed to creating compelling, innovative television with A-list writers like Robert Kirkman, and with Cinemax we have a partner that is as passionate as we are about this very unique project," said FIC exec vp original development and scripted programming Sharon Tal Yguado. "Outcast is unlike anything on television and has the potential to become another global phenomenon."
The Walking Dead represents cable's biggest drama among total viewers and key demographics. In its recent fourth season premiere, the series continued to shatter its own ratings records, drawing more than 16 million total viewers and again ranking as TV's No. 1 scripted series among adults 18-49. It has bested NBC's Sunday Night Football multiple times in the demo this season and earned an early season five renewal.
"Despite the success of The Walking Dead, Outcast is only my second foray into the horror genre. I think Kyle Barnes is every bit as compelling as Rick Grimes and demonic possession is way scarier than zombies -- so this is going to be fun," Kirkman said. "Starting a new project is like setting off on an long journey and I couldn't ask for better travel companions than David Alpert and [FIC's] Sharon Tal Yguado and I'm thrilled to be a part of what Cinemax has planned for the next few years."
This is the fourth comic book adaptation Kirkman currently has in the works. In addition to The Walking Dead, the writer/executive producer is working on a companion series to the zombie drama with fellow executive producer Gale Anne Hurd. Kirkman is also developing Thief of Thieves, a comic book from Image/Skybound. As Skybound's CEO, Kirkman will also executive produce an adaptation of David Schulner's comic Clone for Universal TV. That project, however, has no network attached at the moment.
As for Outcast, Kirkman describes the series as a "real-world dramatic take on a horror concept, and this is going to be me doing that again," adding that the show would explore themes similar to The Walking Dead, in this case losing loved ones to a force beyond one's control. "There are some similarities but hopefully we'll be [covering] new ground that makes this very different from The Walking Dead," he told reporters. "This is going to be a big, epic story with a lot of characters and we'll probably lose a few along the way. I don't know if it's quite as much of a bloodbath as The Walking Dead has turned out to be but there certainly is an element of, 'No one is safe.' "
Kirkman gave the FIC an early look at the Outcast comic, prior to the early commitment to the project. As with The Walking Dead, Kirkman will be intimately involved with the show's development. "It's a fun balance to strike, but the two projects are kept very separately in my head," he said of the process.