Showtime Stabs at CHEW Sitcom

In a TV landscape, there are all kinds of powers to explore. The new upcoming Powers on FX will follow a special police task force dedicated to solving crimes involving people with superpowers, and the new Wonder Woman has the ability to look like a hooker while fighting crime, but those powers pale when compared to the newest entry in comics-to-screen news.

Showtime has got their hands on a script for Chew, according to Deadline, and they’re looking to transform this best-selling comic book into a half-hour cop show that fans will be hungering for. The comic, created by John Layman and Rob Guillory, tells the story of a federal agent, Tony Chu, who happens to be a “cibopath.” What this means is that Tony can get psychic impressions from the things he eats. It seems like a pretty weird talent to have but its useful enough to get Tony assigned to the most unusual and bizarre crimes.

Terri Hughes Burton and Ron Milbauer wrote the script for the TV adaptation and Stephen Hopkins will be directing and executive producing, along with Burton, Milbauer, David Engel and Circle of Confusion, the company behind AMC’s The Walking Dead.

While casting hasn’t been officially discussed yet, Lost alum Ken Leung was mentioned for the role of Tony Chu when the show was mentioned at Comic-Con International 2010, and the creators of Chew have voiced their support of the choice, so it’ll be interesting to see if anyone follows up with Leung.