NBC Wanted Robert Kirkman to Remove Zombies and Make THE WALKING DEAD a Crime Show

We often hear about stupid things that happen in behind-the-scenes pitches to networks, but this one is about the best I've heard yet! Bloody Disgusting says that before Robert Kirkman signed a deal with AMC, he first pitched The Walking Dead to NBC executives. They liked the concept, but wondered if the show really needed zombies...oh, and he needed to add two crime fighting detectives, according to producer Gale Ann Hurd.

I'm guessing eventually the title of the show would have been changed to Law & Order: SZU or something. Clearly, the network executives weren't familiar with the source material, nor did they want to be! Lucky for us, AMC picked it up and began its reign of good cable television. Thank goodness for that — could you imagine how quick a show like that would be cancelled? Then again, iZombie does pretty well...