Article: Why Chew Should Be The Next Comic Book Adapted Into A Television Series







We are is the golden age of comic adaptations. While the heavy hitters from DC and Marvel are earning sacks of cash at the box office, Netflix, cable, and The CW are pulling their weight on television. As The Walking Dead’s viewership numbers continue to drop, It’s safe to consider producers are looking for the next big thing. This dilemma begs to question why Chew hasn’t been adapted yet? 

Published by Image Comics (the same as The Walking Dead), Chew stars Tony Chu, a cibopath who works for the Food and Drugs Administration. What’s a cibopath you ask? A cibopath is a clairvoyant person who experiences psychic visions from the food they eat. For example, if Tony Chu eats a cookie, he will see who made that cookie, and how the ingredients were harvested. He’ll also know if the baker washed his hands before making the cookie, or if a malicious extra ingredient was added by a disgruntled employee. Better yet, especially for our Law and Order and Criminal Minds obsessed society, a cibopath can experience a psychic sensation from anything they eat, including bodies found at a crime scene. For Tony Chu, taking a bite of a murdered corpse’s ear could reveal how the victim was killed, or who the murderer was. It also could reveal that person’s favorite song, or their most embarrassing moment.


Set in a bizarre dystopian future where a bird flu outbreak has wiped out 23 million people, the sale of bird meat is now illegal. As a result, chicken speak easys are all the rage in this series, and fowl loving bootleg chefs serve up delicious pan fried chicken dinners on the black market. Chew is certainly unique, and incredibly funny, often tip toeing to the black humor side of the tracks. Just imagine all the forensic follies that could happen!




Every year or so it seems some production company announces they are interested in adapting this series. In 2010 Circle of Confusion (yes the same that produces The Walking Dead) announced they were planning on an adaption. Then in 2011, Showtime hopped aboard the Chew Chew train and announced they were adapting the comic for a comedy series. Fans got excited, and then were disappointed when they announced it wasn’t happening two year later via Twitter. And then in 2014 it was announce that Chew was being developed into an animated series and that Steven Yeun (Glen from The Walking Dead) would be voicing Tony Chu. Today Chew is sadly no closer to an adaptation. While an animated series would have been fun, this comic would easily make for a great live action series. With the growing popularity of non-superhero based series such as Lucifer and Preacher, Chew could easily bring something unique and fun to the comic adaptation table. As the success of comic based series continue to grow, it’s only a matter of time before Tony Chu gets his chance to take a bite out of crime.


-Lee L. Lind