Rachel Rising Optioned For TV By Watchmen, Walking Dead Producers

Terry Moore's critically-acclaimed indie horror comic Rachel Rising has been optioned for television by Alcon Television Group. It is the first property optioned by Alcon's TV arm. Lloyd Levin, the producer of Watchmen and Hellboy, who has worked with Moore in the past on abortive efforts to to bring Strangers in Paradise and Echo to the screen, will executive producer with Moore and Alcon's Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson and Sharon Hall. Ben Roberts, who served as a consultant on AMC's The Walking Dead, will also produce.

That, of course, isn't the first commonality between Rachel Rising and The Walking Dead; Robert Kirkman actually included a preview of Moore's book inside an issue of The Walking Dead last year, praising Rachel Rising and Moore. "Terry is a personal hero of mine dating back to my self-publishing days," Kirkman wrote in his introduction to the preview. "I've always been a fan of his work and an admirer of everything he's been able to accomplish independently." Last year at San Diego Comic-Con International, Moore teased a development deal in the making, telling fans at the time that he hoped to make an announcement soon after that, but that the deal was not yet in place. According to The Hollywood Reporter, who made the announcement, Alcon is reaching out to showrunners now. They say that the project is already attracting interest from various networks. Moore has a regular "commentary track"-style column at ComicBook.com where he discusses each issue of Rachel Rising with us shortly after its release, examining the issue's craft, and the way that the month's story plays into the overall fabric of the long-term story Moore is trying to tell. You can check out an archive of our Rachel Rising coverage here.