ABC and AMC Pick Up Pilots Including THE WALKING DEAD, THE WHOLE TRUTH; NBC Extends Episode Orders for COMMUNITY, PARKS AND RECREATION

AMC has greenlit pilots for the zombie pandemic The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirtman’s graphic novel, and The Killing, written by Cold Case alum Veena Sud. Also making news is ABC, which gave the okay on pilots for Generation Y, a docu-dramedy following a group of people with flashbacks of their high-school years; Cutthroat, a Weeds-inspired comedy set in Beverly Hills; and The Whole Truth, a legal drama that gives both sides for you to decide. Meanwhile, NBC will grab more episodes of current shows to fill their Jay Leno Show timeslot, and it is heavy on the funny and trauma/drama.

For the full details, and the amazing director set for The Walking Dead, hit the jump.

The Walking Dead and The Killing are the latest AMC dramas to receive greenlights for a pilot, according to Variety.

Frank Darabont, best known for The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist, is set to direct the adaptation he penned for The Walking Dead. Based on the graphic novels by Robert Kirkman, the series revolves around a world suddenly overrun by zombies, leaving small town cop Rick Grimes to piece together what happened and find his family.

“Working with people like Frank Darabont and [executive producer] Gale Anne Hurd is the right way in for us to deliver a project of distinction in this genre,” AMC president Charlie Collier said.

I think we can all agree that Darabont is an outstanding choice to start a series, and one can only hope that he might stay on if the show gets picked up.

Meanwhile, The Killing is based on a Danish TV series called Forbrydelsen. Translated as “crime”, the series revolves around the murder of a young girl and the investigation that takes place by a female investigator. Political intrigue enters into the equation in the original, but it is unclear if the new series will pick up that theme.

“It’s focused on the character but has touches of psycho-horror pics a la Silence of the Lambs,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC senior VP of programming, production and original content. Veena Sud of Cold Case fame wrote the pilot.

ABC will jump into Generation Y, described by Variety as a series that “centers on a group of people in the present day– with flashbacks to their lives 10 years ago as seniors in high school.” The show will also use a documentary approach, but whether the dramatic comedy will resemble current ABC hit Modern Family is unclear. Generation Y is written by Noah Hawley (The Unusuals) and based on the Scandinavian series On God’s Highway.

Cutthroat revolves around a single mother who runs a drug cartel while blending in with high society Beverly Hills. Sounds eerily similar to what little I know of Weeds, though that is set in suburban America. Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters (Reaper) will write and executive produce the dramedy.

The Whole Truth, written by Tom Donaghy, focuses on an ongoing criminal court case in which the audience is given both the defense and the prosecution’s side, with the final resolution of guilty or innocent coming at the conclusion.

Finally, Variety says that NBC will extend the seasons of Trauma, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Community, and Parks and Recreation to help alleviate the cancellation of the Jay Leno Show. Each show has been given an order of two to three more episodes.

This comes hot on the heels of the news that NBC had already ordered more episodes of 30 Rock and The Office. Apparently they are doing their best to fill the void with something actually funny.