Walking Dead producer says NBC wanted 'zombie crime' drama

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Photo: Gene Page/AMC

Can you imagine Rick and Daryl solving a “zombie crime of the week” on The Walking Dead? According to series executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, that’s what the show could’ve been if it ended up at NBC.

Before AMC picked up The Walking Dead, series creator Frank Darabont pitched it to NBC. During a masterclass at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, Hurd said (via Variety) the network replied, “Do there have to be zombies?” NBC then submitted a different take on the concept: a procedural drama focusing on the protagonists solving “a zombie crime of the week,” she said.

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In 2013, NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt called The Walking Dead an “anomaly” and asserted that if many cable programs “did the [same] ratings in our [broadcast] world, they’d be canceled.”

The show will continue its streak of zombies, grotesque human threats, and psychological turmoil when season 7 premieres on Oct. 23.

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