TNT Orders Crime Drama from Frank Darabont

TNT Jon Bernthal in a scene from a new TNT crime drama created by Frank Darabont.

Frank Darabont is headed back to television and he's bringing a few of his former “Walking Dead” colleagues with him. TNT said it had ordered six episodes of a period crime-drama set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 50s, adapted from John Buntin's book “L.A. Noir,” and produced by Mr. Darabont, the writer and director of films like “The Shawshank Redemption,” who developed the television adaptation of “The Walking Dead.”

Mr. Darabont, who parted ways with AMC on that hit zombie-apocalypse drama in 2011, will be joined on his new TNT series by two “Walking Dea d” co-stars: Jon Bernthal, who will play an ex-Marine turned Los Angeles police officer, and Jeffrey DeMunn, who plays a detective in charge of the police department's new mob squad. The cast also includes Jeremy Strong (“The Happening”), Neal McDonough (“Captain America”), Milo Ventimiglia (“Heroes”) and Ron Rifkin (“Alias”). A premiere date was not immediately announced for the pilot episode, which TNT said would feature Simon Pegg (of “Star Trek” and “Shaun of the Dead”) as a character called Hecky Nash, “a third-rate comedian and mob hanger-on.”