Fear The Walking Dead showrunner Dave Erickson is stepping down at the end of Season 3. Erickson has signed a new multi-year overall deal with AMC, the network behind the hit companion series to The Walking Dead. Under the pact, he’ll remain as executive producer of Fear, and at the conclusion of Season 3, will shift his focus to developing new shows for AMC, and potentially other networks in the AMC Networks portfolio, including SundanceTV.

Erickson worked closely with The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman to develop Fear the Walking Dead as a companion series to TWD, which has been the No. 1 show on television among adults 18-49 for the past five years. Heading into its third season, Fear has solidified itself as the No.2 drama behind TWD in ad-supported cable among adults 25-54.

“We’re beyond grateful for Dave’s amazing work on the first three seasons of ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’ With Dave as showrunner, the series fulfilled its creative promise to expand The Walking Dead universe in a way that was totally unique from the original series, and has gone on to become the #2 drama series in ad-supported cable, behind only ‘The Walking Dead,’ said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV. “We are also incredibly excited that Dave has chosen to stay in the AMC family to pursue his next passion project. We look forward to many more successful collaborations.”

“I have truly enjoyed working with the writers and directors, cast and crew on ‘Fear’ and am so proud of what we have accomplished over our first two seasons,” Erickson said. “I look forward to completing work on season three, sharing it with the fans and developing new projects with my partners at AMC.”

Erickson’s previous credits include Marco Polo, Sons of Anarchy and Canterbury’s Law.

Fear the Walking Dead is executive produced by Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, David Alpert and Erickson and produced by AMC Studios.