TNT orders Frank Darabont’s LA Noir to series

US cable network TNT has ordered Frank Darabont’s crime drama LA Noir to series, marking Darabont’s return to television following his departure from The Walking Dead.

Darabont, who also wrote The Shawshank Redemption, will work with Michael De Luca, producer of The Social Network and Moneyball, and Tall Time Tales’ Elliot Webb on the six part series.

The series, which is an adaptation of John Buntin’s LA Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City, is produced by TNT Originals. It tells the story of the conflict between the LA police department and a ruthless criminal gang lead by Mickey Cohen.

LA Noir (WT) will sgtar The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal as an ex-marine working as an LAPD cop and The Shawshank Redemption’s Jeffrey DeMunn as the detective who heads up the department’s mob squad. Shaun of the Dead’s Simon Pegg guest stars in the pilot.

The series is part of TNT’s move to expand into year round programming and joins shows including Dallas, Rizzoli & Iseles, Southland, Leverage and Monday Mornings, the new series from David E. Kelley and Dr Sanjay Gupta.

“This series is an intense, exciting drama that takes viewers back to a truly fascinating time in the history of Los Angeles,” said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “Frank Darabont, Michael De Luca and Elliott Webb have delivered an outstanding opening episode that evokes the time and place in stunning detail. Together with a pitch-perfect ensemble cast and top-notch production crew, they have woven an engrossing tale of heroism in the face of greed and corruption. We’re very excited to be working with such talented storytellers in bringing this project to life.”