To the surprise of no one, AMC has renewed its ratings juggernaut The Walking Dead for season 4, but the news taking everyone by surprise is that the network will do it without current showrunner Glen Mazzara, who will part ways with the series after completing work on season 3.
Mazzara’s rather surprising departure marks the second showrunner to suddenly exit the hit zombie series in just three seasons on the air. Of course, many recall Mazzara landed the showrunner gig after Frank Darabont’s abrupt and contentious removal halfway through the series’ divisive second season – which put Mazzara in the driver’s seat for the second half of season 2, and all of season 3.
Since then, Mazzara has been applauded for his efforts on the series, which have steered The Walking Dead to its highest ratings to date (breaking cable television ratings records in the process). In addition to swifter, more action-packed storytelling, Mazzara’s success can also be attributed to decisions that brought in popular characters like the Governor (David Morrissey) and Michonne (Danai Gurira), as well as his willingness to kill off several major characters early in the season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the split has been deemed “amicable,” by both sides, but was once again rooted in a disagreement as to the direction of the show.
AMC stated:
“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 postproduction on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer.”
In making his own announcement, Mazzara was gracious regarding his decision to leave, and had this to say about his brief tenure as showrunner on The Walking Dead:
“My time as showrunner on The Walking Dead has been an amazing experience, but after I finish season three, 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.”
While it’s not entirely clear what AMC and Mazzara failed to find common ground on, the two sides have decided to file it under the obligatory heading of “creative differences” – which could be anything from storytelling disagreements to the much more likely scenario of issues regarding the show’s budget.
It’s worth noting that the network has had a troubling and somewhat touchy history with several of its showrunners. Many recall season 5 of Mad Men being delayed nearly 18 months after contract disputes could not be settled in a timely manner. A similar disagreement occurred prior to season 5 of Breaking Bad, which led to that series’ final season being split into two 8-episode halves for revenue purposes. Most recently, such disagreements have led to a delay in season 3 of Hell on Wheels, which was briefly put on hold while the network searched for a new showrunner to replace the departing John Shiban.
Still, despite the network’s disturbing pattern of clashes with creative heads, there’s the future of The Walking Dead to think about. In a statement regarding Mazzara’s departure, and what lies ahead, series creator Robert Kirkman said:
“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 postproduction on season three. 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.”
Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd also stepped in to show a little solidarity regarding Mazzara’s departure:
“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.”
At the moment there’s been no word on whether AMC will be looking to promote someone from within the series to the role of showrunner, or if they will bring someone in from outside the network. At any rate, whomever is chosen to replace Mazzara might not want to unpack right away.
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Screen Rant will keep you posted on all news regarding The Walking Dead. Meanwhile, new episodes will begin airing Sunday, February 10 on AMC.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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Throughout all of the creative turmoil with AMC and the shows producers, they’ve still managed to put out one of the best TV series in years, maybe ever.
It makes me wonder how good (or bad) it would be if everyone agreed and got along!
It’s funny when darabont parted ways with the walking dead, many people including myself thought that show would go down but on the contrary, it became better than ever IMO n the ratings hit sky high. may b changing show runners every now n then isnt a bad thing after all because u keep getting new, fresh ideas n different takes of the show. so I dnt know if it’s right or wrong but it’s certainly working for AMC
I don’t know why there should be any dispute, especially about budget. They are making money hand over fist for advertising and beating every other cable show. WTF AMC?
nooo his the reason walking dead got so goood
GLEN IS NOT GOOD ATALL YH HE COOL CHARACTER BUT THE KID NEEDS TO BEKILLED OFF I THINK THE LITTLE SH*T CALN STAND HIM
Are you dumb? Their not talking about the character.. Glen is the name of the show runner. You should read the article…
I guess we’ll see what happens. Just never what will happen. I’m worried about it being the budget because I felt like the last episode when Tyrese and crew came through the catacombs that the zombies were rather sparse and unterrifying (unlike previous episodes where the lighting and everything really conveyed a sense of terror).
Who will part ways with the series after completing work on season 3.
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I just hope season 4 won’t be lackluster, really enjoyed this season, but hopefully they’ll find someone who’ll be able to put their own spin but still maintain the pace of the current season.
Creative differences are always bad bad bad !
It’s not a good sign and we only can hope who ever gets in to replace him is far better then he was..and I guess thats a very hard thing to accomplish ! Maybe the make up guy is next up Niketero or what was his name!
At least for a season i guess,then he get kicked out ! AMC is Fu..ing it up again !
You would think with all the success AMC has with their shows they would let the showrunners do what they do best and run their respective shows unhinged. The AMC execs must be really, really greedy. They want to keep costs low but at the same time they want these guys to churn out great episodes to keep the ratings and money coming in.
BINGO!. We have a winner!
[Tech asst. on the show]
Seriously first Darabont and now Mazzara, AMC ratings have skyrocketed since this show aired. I hope the following season is just as good if not better!! The AMC execs need to think about what they are interfering with. The walking dead is is an awesome show that keeps me coming back every sunday.
So, is there a show on AMC that hasn’t had problems with the network?
Breaking Bad… Yup.
Mad Men… Yup
The Walking Dead… Yup
Hell on Wheels… Yup
And 2 of these shows will be ending sooner than later with Mad Men and Breaking Bad because of the issues with the network.
I’m not saying that they should give The Walking Dead a blank check but they shouldn’t be pinching pennies with the highest rated cable show of all time either…
Take HBO and Boardwalk Empire for example. That show costs a fricking boat load to produce but doesn’t bring in the biggest ratings and you don’t hear about HBO slashing the budgets or show runners leaving every other season.
This also must make for a rough working environment for the rest if the crew and cast. They can’t get to comfortable because if you rock the boat you’ll get the boot. Especially on TWD where anyone can be killed off without a moment of thought…
Am I the onl one who thinks that Glen Mazzara looks like Mötley Crüe´s Vince Neil?
These shows like Breaking Bad, SOA, and Dexter need a Big Bad for the season, and Walking Dead is no exception, the problem is…
POTENTIAL SPOILERS (Based on the Book)
…
…
These is no big bad in the books after the Governor for quite awhile, the group is kinda the big bad for a while, so I’m thinking that they are gonna have to part ways from some of the source material to keep the show to fit TV standards than to fit the storyline of the books…
The show is going to loose a lot of the viewers when he leaves. I for one will not be watching the the show any more when the main star is gone, Glen Mazzara is the most important star in the series and without him its just worth watching.
I predict the next season or the next year of The Walking Dead will be the last of it as most of the close followers of the series get tired of the major stars in the show get removed and they stop watching as the ratings drop through the floor.
The only thing I see will save the series is to work it out with all the current stars and do what it takes to keep making the show as far as I am concerned is the best series on television or as it is going it may have been as it gets dropped in the future.
TODD PERRY
Glen Mazzara is not an actor on the show, I think you have him confused with Andrew Lincoln.
LOL…..that comment felt like a Fail, LOL
“I have told the stories I wanted to tell…” and yet less than two months ago he was saying how he had a lot of stories he wants to tell. There’s no way he got those stories out in two months worth of production. That’s about two episodes worth. I swear if you listen to Mazarra talk enough, you can see right through his not-so-veiled doublespeak.
Welcome to showbiz…obviously he didn’t plan on leaving, but decided to after seeing the writing on the wall (rather than getting dragged down in constant conflict with the network. Guy’s still got a career to think about & being labelled “problematic” won’t help that at at all…neither will telling them to take a hard suck & gag on the overflow-therefore a gracious exit is the only “real” (A.K.A. SMART) choice~
Sucks tho, he did a great job & I hope his successor doesn’t screw it up (or be restricted by “creative differences” to the point the show turns to tapwater).
I’m not too worried, I think Robert Kirkman will make sure this show continues to punish.
http://twdrumors.com
It won’t really matter because in the end it’s still Kirkman’s show so I still have the feeling that ratings will be high and the show will be stronger than ever.
I totally agree – I believe in Kirkman
Http://TWDRumors.com
It seems to me that AMC is so difficult to work with that it’s just a matter of time before anyone with any real talent starts saying no to their projects. Once that starts to happen, they’re going to stop turning out anything worth watching and things will get bad for them.
You can only fight with your crew so long before the boat sinks.
I am surprised at how many people threaten to stop watching a show if any changed happens. I may not be pleased with something that happens on a show but I am for sure going to keep watching to find out what happens next. If you are interested in a show – you will keep watching.
This is very good news to me. Season 2 sucked and season 3 has been disappointing. The Governor is not nearly as bad as he should be. It’s almost laughable how sympathetic they’ve made him. The decision to kill off Lori so early as a bad call. I still prefer season 1 over both seasons 2 and 3. It will be nice to see some changes to this series, hopefully back in the direction of season 1.
So can some1 tell me when is season4 coming out what is the date plz tell me its a gr8 show ever
i think that the walking dead is great all together…it has every element of a horror/drama…. in a zombie out break its not all gonna be about killing zombies! in the case of a real zombie out reak every element that has happened on the show(for example like rick going crazy and seeing things, that would more then likley happen after you have been in the zombie world for as long as they have, seeing the things they senn. not to metion the things most of them have done) just because glenn is leaving doesnt mean the shows ratings will drop, they will prolly actually shoot even more through the roof because the story will be being told from another persons view…and as i continue to say im pretty sure that kirkman wont let the tv show become a crappy series because if he does it risks giving a bad name to the comics and himself. i mean sure the walking dead will go off the air sometiime or another but it wont go out without a big bang first! props to glenn and kirkman for making this outstanding tv series! hope the next show runner is just as good as glenn. but i would like to see the show to take a very sick, tiwsted path but a well put together one. FEAR THE DEAD FIGHT THE LIVING is a good slogan i think but as it goes on the show needs to do some changes not many but some, like glenn(korean) start to take a turn for the worst but better for the group!!!
electronically signed
d
Dustin mouchetet
Idc as long as the show continues on. This show has such a huge following even not acknowledged by hollywood. Doesnt bother us fans. What does hoolywood know. They gave best actor to the guy in house of lies. No one even watchs it. Andrew lincoln should have gotten it. We will watch till the last show. I notice many advertisers so they know we are watching. Go TWD
I hope there’s a season four
Excessive Beauty basically walking dead, it was perhaps the best horror movie I ever watched and hopefully after making a season 4 of this movie, more more people will watch it, and I promise that I will finish watching it until the end of the story,
LOVE the walking dead. Its my favorite show upset that tonights the final episode . But i was just wondering. If anyone know when season 4 will be??