Well, this is disappointing. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman who forced Glen Mazzara out of his role of The Walking Dead's showrunner, because Kirkman is a little too handsy with the TV adaptation of his best-selling comic. From THR:

When a network fires two showrunners in less than 18 months from its biggest hit — and one of the most successful franchises on television — that is sure to make waves in Hollywood and with fans. So no matter how AMC tried to spin the Dec. 21 departure of Glen Mazzara from The Walking Dead as just one of those amicable things, insiders rolled their eyes — especially because the network let go co-creator Frank Darabont in July 2011 and has had high-profile spats with writer-producers on its hits Mad Men and Breaking Bad. ... Several insiders confirm that Kirkman, whose detailed graphic novels form the basis of the series, is "very proprietary," as one puts it. One adds, "I believe Robert wants to maintain a certain amount of his control, and AMC needs Robert for the fan base." But despite the vitriol, some sources involved with Walking Dead say Kirkman was one of several producers on the show who had issues with Mazzara and his vision. One source says Mazzara's shortcomings in running the series during the most recent third season became "abundantly clear … especially for the second half of the season." This source says production was shut down "several times" because of a lack of material.


To be honest, while I think season 3 was much improved over the first two season of The Walking Dead, I have no idea how much of that was Mazzara's doing. I'd suspect quite a bit, since he was the new element added when TWD started picking up at the end of season 2, but I couldn't say for certain.

But since I threw a shit-fit when Frank Darabont was fired as TWD showrunner (like so many fans), and that ended up being a massive improvement, I feel like I need to shut my mouth until I see how things shake out in the second half of season 3. It's admittedly not my standard operating procedure, but I'm willing to give it a try.


[Via Warming Glow]