Showtime has picked up a script for a half-hour cop show based on a comic book series titled Chew.

The comic book series follows a Federal agent named Tony Chu that can get psychic images from the things that he eats. He gets assigned to the most bizarre crimes and he has to eat his way through the investigation. The comic, created by John Layman and Rob Guillory and published by Image Comics, is darkly funny and completely unique compared to the horde of tights and fights books on store shelves. Terri Hughes Burton and Ron Milbauer (Eureka) wrote the Chew script that will now be further revised by Showtime for their network.

A story like Chew is perfect for a cable network, at a minimum AMC, and at best HBO or Showtime, so it’s exciting that the network that gave us Dexter will develop the project.

Circle of Confusion, the company behind the AMC adaptation of Walking Dead and the upcoming FX adaptation of the Brian Michael Bendis comic book called Powers, will produce the show. Circle of Confusion helped bring us a successful floppy to TV evolution of Walking Dead so the odds of Chew being great are high. Terri Hughes Burton and Ron Milbauer know quirky storytelling well having worked on Eureka, now they just need to bring on the darkness. Stephen Hopkins is attached to direct and executive produce the series. Hopkin’s has previously worked on Californication for Showtime and recently directed an episode of Shameless.

[Source: Deadline]