'Walking Dead' shock: Another showrunner steps down
by James Hibberd
Tags: News

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AMC’s hit drama The Walking Dead has lost its showunner — again.

Glen Mazzara, who took over the zombie drama’s showrunner position from Frank Darabont last year in the middle of the show’s second season, is leaving the show.

The cable series that’s brutal about killing off characters is seemingly just as tough to survive as a writer-producer. Here’s a flurry of official statements:

Mazzara: “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.”

Here’s AMC and Mazzara: “Today, AMC announces the season 4 pick-up of The Walking Dead. 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.”

And now here’s Robert Kirkman: “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.”

Oh, and yeah, the show is now officially renewed for season four. Anybody want a showrunner gig?

Speculations about Mazzara’s future on the show started when AMC didn’t follow its regular routine of giving The Walking Dead an early pickup despite the record-breaking ratings performance of the show’s recent fall portion of Season 3.

There had been rumors that Mazzara was not happy on the show and may follow the slew of other showrunners who have departed AMC series – The Walking Dead‘s Frank Darabont, whom Mazzara succeeded, Rubicon creator/exec producer Jason Horwitch, who exited during production on its first and only season, and most recently Hell On Wheels showrunner John Shiban, who left after two seasons.