Photo

On “The Walking Dead,” there are no guarantees which members of its still-living ensemble will stick around from one week to the next — and that goes for the creative team as well. Glen Mazzara, the show runner of this hit AMC survival-horror drama, is the latest to leave the show: after steering “The Walking Dead” through its second and third seasons, Mr. Mazzara, a former producer of “The Shield,” announced in December that he was parting ways with AMC and with “The Walking Dead” — having taken over the show from Frank Darabont, who developed it from the comic-book series and was deposed after its first season.

Photo

As “The Walking Dead” returns from hiatus on Sunday to finish its third season, Mr. Mazzara spoke with ArtsBeat on Monday about his departure and his vision for his final episodes. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Q.

Does it feel strange to be talking about the show now?

A.

No, not at all. I’m excited about the show. The whole season was designed for a 16-episode arc, and I don’t think it’s any different from when people are talking about a movie coming out. It’s something that we’ve worked hard on, and I’m incredibly proud of it. There’s no question about the material in Season 3. AMC and I had creative differences moving forward into Season 4. There’s no tap-dancing or anything related to Season 3. It’s all something we fully embrace.

Q.

Can you say what you wanted to do going forward, and where it didn’t mesh with what the network wanted?

A.

I want to talk about Season 3. I don’t want to talk about those creative differences. Feel free to ask other people about that. People have been very, very supportive of what I’ve been able to do with the show this year, but I want to stay focused on the work and not let this become a distraction. We have eight terrific episodes coming out, and those elements that we love about “The Walking Dead” — the pacing, the horror, the characters that we cry for when they’re in danger or killed off — that’s still there every week.

Q.

Season 2 was a success numerically, but there was some outcry that narratively, it felt stagnant. Was that anything you took into consideration as you started planning this season?

A.

There’s an expectation with a horror show like this that you never know what’s coming around the next corner. So if you look at, particularly, the first half of this season, that’s what you get. Our season premiere was very little dialogue — no dialogue in the opening scene — and we see how everyone’s advanced, how they’ve bonded and kept each other alive. Then our story takes over — boom, they’re trying to take over that prison. And then just as they spend two episodes with the challenge of taking over the prison, the next curveball comes, and Andrea and Michonne find the Governor. By the end of those first eight episodes, the Governor and Rick — who still have not seen each other — are fully aware and have fallen into a war. Now in the back half of Season 3, you have shifting allegiances, you have people questioning loyalty and swapping sides. People wondering if they have to sacrifice one another to stay alive.

Q.

Knowing that the Governor would be a major character this season, did you plan that Rick would develop along a parallel path, as he becomes an almost Governor-like figure to his own group of survivors?

A.

Rick has to wrestle with not only keeping his sanity, as he’s placed under more and more pressure, but a central question in the back half of this season is, How do we retain our humanity under such dire circumstances? That’s something that Rick has to face not only for himself but also for his son and for the group that he’s sworn to protect. You have these people being forced with choices that make them act in an inhumane way to the people they’re at war with. Is it worth it? Is survival worth it if it costs you your humanity?

Q.

You’ve done so much to build up the Governor as a human adversary to Rick. But your seasons have tended to tell self-contained stories. Should we be fearing for the Governor’s longevity?

A.

Well, I’m not going to give away any spoilers. [laughs] But I do think you’ll see a satisfying ending to this chapter of Rick’s story.

Q.

Are there things you will miss about the show?

A.

I’m going to miss a lot of people I’ve worked with. It’s top-notch talent. I’m looking forward to creating other shows and working on my projects. I’d love to bring some of these people into those projects when they’re available.

Q.

Is there a single moment from the show that you’re most proud of?

A.

When people write to me and they say, for example, the scene where Maggie says goodbye to Hershel — they say that’s the same experience I had saying goodbye to their parents. Or Lori’s speech to Carl, when she’s saying goodbye before she sacrifices herself, and people write to me and say, “That really meant something to me.” I lost my mom last year, and I said goodbye to my mom over the phone, while she was in a bed. And then I wrote that scene: Maggie saying goodbye to Hershel was, almost verbatim, what I said to my own mother. And Lori’s speech to Carl was what I wanted to hear back from my own mother. The emotional weight of that and the way it affected so many people, that’s why I became a storyteller. That’s worth all the late nights and the dozens of revisions.

Q.

I assume you’ll still tune in, as a viewer, for the rest of your episodes?

A.

Well, I’ve seen the episodes a thousand times. [laughs] So when the shows air, I actually read the Twitter feed, because it’s immediate feedback and it lets me know what scenes worked and what scenes didn’t work. It’s a lot of fun. It’s also terrifying because people are brutally honest. I don’t watch the show live, because I’ve seen it all.

Q.

And you’ll still be watching those tweets, even though there’s no more that you can do?

A.

But I’m proud of my work, and I think that work stands for itself. If people don’t like something, they’ll tell me and I’ll take my lumps. It used to be that I didn’t like when my shows aired and were written about in the press. But this is a fun show and it’s fun to hear people discuss it and debate what’s going to happen next. Meanwhile, I know what’s going to happen next. Sometimes I feel like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, and everybody’s talking about what they think’s going to be under the tree. I’ve got the goodies in my bag.

Q.

When Season 4 comes around and you’re just a civilian, will you still keep up with the show?

A.

I believe so. I have a tremendous amount of friends on the show. Of course I wish them all the luck and success, and I’ll be rooting for them.