Boy, Are We Happy To Have You Back In TV With 'Mob City,' Frank Darabont

He played a huge part in bringing The Walking Dead to TV screens, and contributed to the best parts of the zombie drama; he wrote the screenplays for – and directed - The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, and now he’s back on the small screen with a noir, period drama called Mob City. Boy, it’s nice to have you back, Frank.

“I'm absolutely delighted. I think it's inspired to air two a night over three weeks because otherwise we'd be doing the difficult thing of an hour a night and football season gets in the way. Then the audience has to hunt for it. I think it's a really smart way to go,” Darabont explained to The Hollywood reporter.

Of course, the holy grail for any show is to get a second season, and Darabont thinks a 6-ep start is the best way to go; it’s more than you get with a pilot, but doesn’t put people off with a lengthy season if they find it tiresome. “You can't really tell anything from a pilot. With six, you can really make your case and the network can give you the opportunity to do that without committing their resources for a full season. It's a great way to launch something,” he explained.

Since Darabont’s ousting from the Walking Dead setup - something he confirmed was down to budgeting - but refused to talk further on - Scott Gimple has assumed the position of showrunner. He’s been good, but the first half of season 4 hasn’t inspired much hope for the future of the show. And neither did the news of a possible spin-off.