{alltv} 'The Walking Dead' takes a flesh new look at zombies

Sexy vampires and werewolves are attracting both TV viewers and moviegoers. But creepy, flesh-eating, decaying zombies?

AMC and longtime zombie aficionado Frank Darabont are banking on it with The Walking Dead, the six-episode, dead-centric series that premieres, fittingly, on Halloween (Sunday, 10 ET/PT).

Based on Robert Kirkman's popular comic-book series, Dead offers plenty of blood-spattering scenes as humans fight off zombies who have an insatiable appetite for flesh, both human and animal.

But Darabont, who created the series and directs Sunday's 90-minute pilot, expects Dead to expand the genre's audience from its predominantly teen horror-film fan base. "We hope we have character-driven stories that will appeal to everybody," says Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile).

Primal survivalist themes are intertwined with heartfelt story lines centering on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), a small-town Kentucky sheriff's deputy shot in the line of duty. Awakening from a coma in a deserted hospital room weeks later, Grimes finds himself all but alone in the post-apocalyptic zombie world. His tension-filled journey takes him south, where he hopes to reunite with wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs), who've banded together with others in the Atlanta suburbs.

Darabont had a development deal with NBC before "they ran screaming out of the room" at the prospect of a zombie series. On hindsight, a traditional broadcast channel "wouldn't have made a good fit," Darabont says. "AMC has been saying go for it from the get-go. We haven't had to adjust how we made the material in any way."

AMC, home to boundary breaking but critically acclaimed dramas Mad Menand Breaking Bad— like Dead, both spurned elsewhere — has been whetting viewers' appetite with its annual "Fearfest" two-week block of horror films. And it's staging mock zombie invasions in more than two dozen U.S. and overseas markets.

Network president Charlie Collier hopes to target 25- to 54-year-olds. "It's about the human condition; who would you be if you were in this situation?" he says. "We think this has broad appeal."

Will viewers find out how the zombie apocalypse began? That's unclear. "This is going to be a fun thing for us to play with and for us to speculate on," Darabont says.

There's ample material to work with. Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens) notes Kirkman has written more than 80 comic books since 2003. They deal with "very compelling human issues, which makes compelling TV," she says. "I know women will love it."

Of course, hard-core zombie fans should, too. Designed by a special effects team led by makeup designer Greg Nicotero, the "walkers" were meticulously created with a combination of prosthetic devices and computer-generated graphics.

Nicotero, who has been involved with zombie films since 1985's Day of the Dead, went as far as selecting actors and extras with elongated facial features to enhance their transformation into zombies.

"There were days that we were doing scenes with 150 zombies, the most elaborate taking 2½ hours in makeup," Nicotero says. "For the fans who want to see a bunch of gore, this has it. It's certainly unlike anything we've seen on TV."

Apple iPod Touch 8GB 2nd Generation (Previous Model) with choice of Accessories Bundle