Frank Darabont And Jon Bernthal’s ‘LA Noir’ Picked Up For Series By TNT

Good news for Frank Darabont fans: His proposed new TV series LA Noir has been given the green light for six episodes. Let’s just hope that if it’s taken to season two, he doesn’t get muscled out six episodes in.

Darabont — best known for the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and general storytelling awesomeness — has moved to TV lately with an ambitious start as the brain trust behind AMC’s wickedly popular The Walking Dead. Six episodes in, Darabont was forced to step down (or, according to the studio, he left to pursue other projects), and season two of the highly-acclaimed show moved along without his influence despite his name remaining in the title card.

After his Walking Dead bow, Darabont announced that he was working on another TV series to be titled LA Noir based on a John Buntin book that rubs shoulders with Gangster Squad in that it takes place in a traditional noir setting and features Micky Cohen as the primary antagonist.

According to Empire, LA Noir will see Walking Dead alum Jon Bernthal (who played the villainous Shane) taking up a lead role as Joe Teague, an ex-Marine working with the LAPD amid deep police corruption. Also starring are Ron Rifkin as Mayor Fletcher Bowron, Neal McDonough as Captain William Parker, and long-time Darabont collaborator Jeffrey DeMunn as Detective Hal Morrison.

Milo Ventimiglia and Alexa Davalos will also star in supporting roles. Simon Pegg is also supposed to appear in the pilot as well.

The six-episode first season of La Noir will call TNT home, following along with the network’s strategy to expand their year-round original programming in order to compete with AMC’s critical blockbusters, reports Deadline.

Are you excited for Frank Darabont’s return to the small screen with TNT’s LA Noir?