AMC renews 'The Walking Dead,' but showrunner Glen Mazzara departs
Second producer switch in two seasons comes over creative differences
A zombie from "The Walking Dead."
AMC has renewed "The Walking Dead" for a fourth season, but the zombie drama will once again be making a change at showrunner, as Glen Mazzara will be leaving the series after post-production work concludes on season 3.
"The Walking Dead" is one of the biggest hits in all of television. Among adults 18-49, it's the highest-rated non-sports show of the 2012-13 TV season, in fact. Despite that, it hasn't been immune from behind-the-scenes turmoil. Frank Darabont, who adapted the series from Robert Kirkman's comic books and ran the show in its first year-plus, was forced out midway through season 2 for reasons that still haven't entirely been explained. And now Mazzara — who was Darabont's number two and took over following Darabont's abrupt exit — is gone as well, with his exit folded into news of the show's unsurprising renewal.
"Today, AMC announces the season 4 pick-up of 'The Walking Dead,'" the network said in a statement. "AMC also jointly announces with Glen Mazzara today that for future seasons, the two parties have mutually decided to part ways. Glen guided the series creatively for seasons 2 and 3. AMC is grateful for his hard work. We are both proud of our shared success. Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways. This decision is amicable and Glen will remain on for post-production on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer."
In a separate statement, Mazzara said, "My time as showrunner on 'The Walking Dead' has been an amazing experience, but after I finish season 3, it’s time to move on. I have told the stories I wanted to tell and connected with our fans on a level that I never imagined. It doesn’t get much better than that. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey."
And producer Gale Ann Hurd, the main constant amid these other departures, said in her own statement, “I am appreciative and grateful to Glen for his hard work on ‘The Walking Dead.’ I am supportive of AMC and Glen's decision and know that the series is in great hands with one of the most talented and dedicated casts and crews in the business. I look forward to the show's continued success.”
UPDATE: And one more statement, courtesy of Robert Kirkman (who is also a writer and producer on the series)" "I am in full support of both AMC and Glen Mazzara in the decision they have come to and believe the parties came to this decision in the best interest of the future of the show. I thank Glen for his hard work and appreciate his many contributions to 'The Walking Dead' and look forward to working with him as we complete post production on Season 3. I am also excited to begin work on another spectacular season of this show that I know means so much to so many people. This show has always been the result of a wide range of extremely talented men and women working tirelessly to produce their best work collectively. I believe the future is bright for 'The Walking Dead.' Thank you to the fans for your continued support."
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December 21, 2012 at 1:56PM EST Reply to CommentSo creative differences or $ differences?
Stuckey They seem to be the same thing at AMC lately. Ever since Weiner's deal for Mad Men they keep saying money is tight and then they bring back The Killing (albeit with help), which can do nothing but hurt the AMC brand further. I can see AMC not liking how dark the first 8 episodes were this half season, but they've brought the best ratings and best critical response, so why mess with a good thing? I hope Mazzara or someone close actually tells us what happens since, like Alan said, we don't know what happened with Darabont
December 21, 2012 at 2:01PM ESTed w I figure he did such a good job that he got lucrative offers he couldn't refuse.
December 21, 2012 at 2:08PM ESTLucas
December 21, 2012 at 1:58PM EST Reply to CommentSooo, The Walking Dead is the new 90210? So many showrunners change.
brent
December 21, 2012 at 2:00PM EST Reply to CommentYeah, definitely. Creative differences. AMC simply wants 22-episode seasons.
Matt Not so sure about that. Walking Dead could not be done for 22-ep seasons ... too expensive.
February 9, 2013 at 1:03AM ESTalynch
December 21, 2012 at 2:03PM EST Reply to CommentSo in the wake of Darabont's departure, there were a bunch of stories talking about how Darabont was the problem, how he was incapable of collaborating and all that. Now that Mazzara is also leaving after a season and half in charge, is there any reason not to conclude that AMC is the problem?
Conatonc No. No there is not. I know the ratings keep getting better, but you really have to wonder about AMC seemingly doing everything they can to sabotage the most popular drama in cable history behind the scenes.
December 21, 2012 at 2:11PM ESTalynch I mean lets think about how things have gone with their showrunners on all their shows:
December 21, 2012 at 2:19PM ESTBreaking Bad & Mad Men have held onto their showrunners for their entire runs, but not without some brutal negotiations that jeopardized the future of both shows.
Rubicon: They fired the show's initial showrunner after the pilot. And hell, if they did renew it they probably would've fired Bromell, hoping it would lead to better season 2 ratings.
Hell On Wheels: That show THREE showrunners and they couldn't hang on to ANY of them.
Walking Dead: On their third showrunner going into a fourth season.
The Killing: To Veena Sud, they have shown absolute loyalty. Veena fucking Sud!
ike75 AMC is absolutely the problem. They fight with all their showrunners and they also pick public fights with cable providers constantly, such as the bizarre out-of-nowhere broadsides against Verizon recently, shrinking the screen and running obnoxious screen-crawls during TWD just to attack Verizon and claim that Verizon wanted to drop them in order to stir up a s***storm with TWD fans. At the same time, AMC starves its channels for HD bandwidth -- they have the worst-looking HD in the business. What a walking disaster of a channel.
December 21, 2012 at 3:42PM ESTbrian Well said, IKE75. AMC does not deserve nice things.
December 21, 2012 at 7:31PM ESTed w Who knows but I suspect Matt Weiner talking all of AMC's money (not literally but you know what I mean) is the real problem. I suspect that to be behind a lot of decisions we haven't liked from cutting back on BBad to showrunner roulette on Walking Dead.
December 22, 2012 at 8:28PM ESTthe minister I can't give you the precise details (because I am so lazy I won't Google them 8) but AMC fired the execs who greenlit the cowboy movies, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad (i.e. the stuff that MADE amc.)
December 22, 2012 at 8:59PM ESTSince then, the only thing the new chimps have greenlit of value is TWD, and they have ham-handled that while shafting the guys who got 'em on top from the jump.
Sad.
I wouldn't be surprised if they started "super-sizing" episodes soon...
MoreTears
December 21, 2012 at 2:14PM EST Reply to CommentThis is a good opportunity to ask something I have wondered for a long while: Why don't the journalists who "cover" the world of TV have sources who can cut through the press release BS and tell us the whole story when something like this happens? A difference of opinion about the direction of the show? Okay, what exactly was the difference of opinion? In TV are there no "people close to the situation" who leak information to the press? Is the "entertainment beat," unlike the political beat, just considered too trivial for journalists to bother investigating behind-the-scenes matters? I am not faulting Alan for anything, I hasten to add. This is about the business he is in and common practice in that line of work.
Aiden Ugh, if the TV media start to act like the Sports media it would suck. I can do without imaginary "Sources" or "People close to the situation" stories that some hack makes up to meet a deadline.
December 21, 2012 at 2:32PM ESTMoreTears Yes, but I wasn't talking about imaginary crap from imaginary sources made up by the journalist. I am talking about real people who work on these shows or at these TV channels. The White House and Congress can't stop leaks to the press but TV studios can? Really?
December 21, 2012 at 2:49PM ESTdezbot People don't want to lose their jobs, more like it. It's not like they can't be replaced, and easily, so I don't blame them for not leaking stories that could jeopardize their livelihood.
December 21, 2012 at 3:16PM ESTMoreTears People can't be fired if their bosses don't know WHO leaked information. That's how it works in politics and sports, right? Journalists protect the identities of their sources who wish to remain anonymous.
December 21, 2012 at 3:30PM ESTAlex C. Back when Darabont left AICN went into exactly why AMC has such massive problems with showrunners and they named a lot of names in the process.
December 21, 2012 at 4:36PM ESTjoel Politics and Hollywood are nothing alike in this respect. Neither is sports. These people don't talk because they need to eat, and the chance of being compromised for speaking out is high. You'll notice that when a film production goes horribly wrong that the "real story" is rarely revealed in any depth unless there's a law suit that forces public disclosure.
December 21, 2012 at 7:52PM ESTThe networks are mostly run by large corporations with share holders, boards of executives, and massive arsenals of lawyers. Corporations don't want their dirty laundry in the public eye, and they're very effective at controlling that.
Blake Maybe the journalists will get the story first. But this is also the way news reporting works: You run the press release first if it has the news.
December 21, 2012 at 8:01PM ESTThis was announced late in the day on the Friday before Christmas for a reason. Even if you have sources, they can't be reached.
joel In politics they call it "taking out the trash." No one really pays attention to the news on Friday or Saturday, so dumping this before Christmas is even better.
December 21, 2012 at 8:07PM ESTthe minister "Why don't the journalists who "cover" the world of TV have sources who can cut through the press release BS and tell us the whole story when something like this happens?"
December 22, 2012 at 9:03PM EST-=-=-=-
*** Because covering Congress does not require screeners. ***
(You do see some of the same corruption/withholding in DC, especially in the pundit corps, but it's not as foul as in Hollywood.
Video game coverage is interesting in that it's ethically somewhere between the two.
Ben Kabak Agreed. The BS press releases especially from Kirkman are downright insulting.
December 24, 2012 at 3:47PM ESTRicardo
December 21, 2012 at 2:20PM EST Reply to CommentThis is getting ridiculous.
BrettPoker Ricardo, you summed up my thoughts completely.
December 21, 2012 at 8:03PM ESTJessica
December 21, 2012 at 2:30PM EST Reply to CommentI'm not surprised. He's probably got a lot of great offers lined up already and he's obviously extremely talented. He managed to take Darabont's work and enrich it into the TV stratosphere! His recent anti-gun tweets don't seem so hypocritical now either. I thought it was kind of counter intuitive to produce a survivalist show like The Walking Dead and be a gun opponent but with this news, it makes a lot more sense.
keith
December 21, 2012 at 2:38PM EST Reply to CommentMazzara is a bad writer, but so is Kirkman so I don't see much chance of an upturn.
gladly I've heard Kirkman on a few podcasts and sitting in televised interviews, and he's really unbearable. I wonder why no one blames the other constant in this equation: showrunners don't want to work with Kirkman. (I don't follow TWD aside from Alan's blog and watching the show, so maybe this is self-evident.)
December 21, 2012 at 5:01PM ESTDavid
December 21, 2012 at 3:58PM EST Reply to CommentJust like the NBA and NFL, everyone wants to avoid paying the second contract.
Paul C
December 21, 2012 at 5:29PM EST Reply to CommentThis is quite concerning considering that the last block of episodes was by far the most consistent quality that the show had, and was quite an improvement.
At a guess it would probably suggest pressure from AMC to essentially 'do more with less' and it just led to a massive fight.
Kirkman's comments are really weird considering the split is "in the best interest of the future of the show". Strange that getting rid of your #1 writer can be considered a good thing. But I guess from Kirkman's viewpoint, the longer the show goes on the more money he will personally make.
lazy iggy Do more with less...that's exactly it...story doesn't matter, the bottom line does
December 21, 2012 at 7:46PM ESTjoel Those comments were written for the press release. Don't expect anyone involved to speak out in a press release. That said, Kirkman seems very loyal to AMC over this show. I wouldn't expect him to speak against them, and why not? This comic book and especially this show are by far the biggest successes on his resume. Would you really expect him to bite the hand that feeds, especially considering this show could theoretically pay big royalties for many years to come?
December 21, 2012 at 7:56PM ESTadama1843
December 21, 2012 at 11:49PM EST Reply to CommentAMC: Story Matters Here...but apparently not showrunners.
lazy iggy And not the audience either...I feel they think creative vision and talent don't matter to us as well...like we will blindly and happily eat whatever they shovel.
December 22, 2012 at 12:07AM ESTthe minister AMC: "Story Used to Matter Here Then We Fired The Execs to Which Story Mattered."
December 22, 2012 at 9:05PM ESTMiles Ellison
December 22, 2012 at 2:44PM EST Reply to CommentJudging from AMC's relentless flogging of reality shows like Small Town Security and Freaks, and their money-based conflicts with the creators of quality shows that are actually worth watching, their business plan seems to have the goal of turning the network into the next VH-1.
martinihoudini
December 23, 2012 at 2:28PM EST Reply to CommentIf Daryl dies, I wont watch this anymore anyway.
Mark in Omaha Amen to that brother.
December 26, 2012 at 8:28PM ESTDaryl dies, it ruins all future episodes period
December 27, 2012 at 4:44PM ESTchris The only name I know on the show is Daryl....boone dock saints...I will be a fan as long as daryl stays...otherwise...I have better things to do and the fifty people tell ABOUT DARYLs updates. lol
February 12, 2013 at 10:20PM ESTPrintin' Mike
December 24, 2012 at 11:37AM EST Reply to CommentThe fact is, this season has been the strongest and most consistent of the entire series. Sure, there are still some glaringly inconsistent and unbelievable plot devices (and characters) that simply don’t work. But, there are far fewer problems than in seasons past.
I’m not a fan of Glen Mazzara. And, if he was truly let go due to genuine creative differences, I’d be jumping for joy. Sadly, it’s clear that this is about AMC wanting to save money and cut corners – and has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with creative differences. I highly doubt that someone at AMC angrily insisted upon “better characterizations, better dialog, and better plots”. No, I’m sure the dictate was simply “stop spending so much fucking money! Let’s have a couple of seasons watching Hershel plant vegetables in the prison courtyard.”
belinda
December 25, 2012 at 12:18PM EST Reply to Commentthis kind of blows, since s3 was an improvement over the last 2. has a new showrunner been announced?
unclevanya
December 26, 2012 at 1:54AM EST Reply to CommentGood old AMC. Mutual bull! The all mighty $$. That's all they care about.
Believe me, you can say what you think look at BREAKING BAD. not even a complete ending until next year. Only voted number 1 in best shows. All the cuts they had to come of with. For their budget. Bottle episodes and other stuff.
They have to think outside the box!! You get what you pay for.
Mark in Omaha
December 26, 2012 at 8:34PM EST Reply to CommentBased on nothing but my own opinion, I think the problem is Kirkman. He didn't like that they were moving the show away from his "vision". The little I've seen of him on Talking Dead, he doesn't strike me as being sophisticated enought to adapt a comic book into something that will work on television. When other people try to move away from his source material, a problem develops and that person end up leaving.