TNT orders “L.A. Noir” cop drama into series

PanARMENIAN.Net - TNT is officially in the Frank Darabont business, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The cable network has picked up the ousted Walking Dead showrunner's period drama formerly known as L.A. Noir, ordering six episodes of the period cop drama, TNT said.

The untitled series, based on the book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City by John Buntin, revolves around the battle between former Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker and mobster/former boxer Mickey Cohen.

Darabont wrote and directed the TNT Originals' pilot and will executive produce alongside The Social Network producer Michael De Luca and Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales). Michael De Luca Productions' Alissa Phillips (Moneyball) will serve as co-executive producer.

“L.A. Noir is an intense, exciting drama that takes viewers back to a truly fascinating time in the history of Los Angeles," said Michael Wright, president and head of programming at TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies. "Frank Darabont, Michael De Luca and Elliot 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."

The project, which takes place in the 1940s and '50s, marks a reunion for Darabont with The Walking Dead stars Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey DeMunn, whose characters were killed off of the AMC zombie drama last season. Bernthal stars as Joe Teague, an former Marine-turned-LAPD cop in the period drama. DeMunn plays Detective Hal Morrison, head of the LAPD's new mob squad. Neal McDonough will play Capt. William Parker, Teague's boss who's hellbent on weeding out corruption and bringing Cohen down.