Sherriff's deputy Shane Walsh runs into a zombie mob when he tries to lead a group of survivors out of Atlanta.
Gene Page/AMCIt’s official: The Walking Dead‘s Jon Bernthal is reuniting with former showrunner Frank Darabont.
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The actor has landed the lead role in Darabont’s TNT cop pilot, L.A. Noir, the network can confirm now that Bernthal has been killed off AMC’s breakout zombie series on last night’s heavily hyped episode.
Darbont, who was instrumental in adapting the zombie drama from Robert Kirkman’s comics, was ousted and replaced as showrunner in July, just days after representing the series at San Diego Comic-Con. His sudden departure took many, including Bernthal, by surprise, particularly given the commercial success of the show.
This time around, he is adapting John Buntin’s book L.A. Noir: The Struggle For The Soul Of America’s Most Seductive City, a true story of a decades-long conflict between the LAPD and the city’s criminals. The project was picked up to pilot earlier this year.
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Bernthal is set to play Joe Teague, the LAPD cop at the heart of the series that revolves around the police force’s pursuit of mobster Mickey Cohen. He joins former Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia, who will play a former marine who served with Bernthal’s character during WWII and is now a budding lawyer groomed to be a master “fixer” for the mob.
Darabont is attached to write and direct the pilot as well as executive produce the period drama alongside The Social Network producer Michael De Luca and Elliot Webb (TallTime Tales). Alissa Phillips (Moneyball) will serve as co-executive producer.
Bernthal, whose previous credits include Eastwick and The Class, is repped by WME and Burstein Company.
