This in from Deadline: Looks like Frank Darabont, the head honcho on AMC's "The Walking Dead", has told the writing staff of the first six episodes to do the zombie walk, and not come back.

Charles Eglee, Darabont's longtime partner and exec-producer of the first season will also be among those put down for the count.

For the second season of the "The Walking Dead" Darabont will be hiring freelance writers on a script by script basis.

How this will play out for the show's consistency has yet to be scene. But given Mr. Darabont's background as a writer and how much he has heavily had a hand in every script so far, this shouldn't present a problem. (Unless you're one of the writers who was enjoying a steady writing gig!)

Next season of "The Walking Dead" will feature thirteen episodes so we'll see if Darabont can do a Rod Serling and crank out the work.

BY Nellie Andreeva

{Hollywood Reporter} - TNT has picked up Dean Devlin's action drama pilot "Leverage" to series.

The cable network has ordered 13 episodes of the project that stars Timothy Hutton and is executive produced by Devlin and John Rogers.

BY Kimberly Nordyke

{Hollywood Reporter} - ABC Family has picked up "Samurai Girl," which the cable network plans to air as a "major programming event" consisting of three two-hour episodes.

"Samurai," from ABC Studios, is to start production in the spring in Vancouver and is slated to air during one weekend in August; the strategy is similar to one the network took with "Fallen."