There could be trouble brewing in Zombieland.
Frank Darabont, showrunner of the hit AMC show The Walking Dead, has quit, according to Deadline. Losing Darabont could be quite a blow to the zombie drama, considering the cache the Oscar-nominated filmmaker brought to the show.
Details regarding the reasons for Darabont's departure are still a bit fuzzy. Early speculation suggests that he "never quite adjusted to the daily grind of producing a TV series." The pace of television productions is much quicker and more grueling than feature filmmaking, which is where Darabont has spent most of his career.
The news of Darabont's resignation comes as quite a surprise, as he "spent five years trying to get a TV version of the zombie saga off the ground." Adding to the shock is the fact that Darabont joined fellow series producers Gale Anne Hurd and Robert Kirkman (who created the graphic novel on which the show is based) on a Comic-Con panel just a few days ago and made no mention of his intention to leave.
There has been no announcment as to who will step in to take Darabont's place as showrunner. Glen Mazzarra, who has served as a writer and co-producer on The Walking Dead, could be a possible candidate.
The Walking Dead, despite its undeniable popularity, came under a bit of fire from certain critics (myself included) who thought that the show declined in quality after the pilot episode. This shake-up and the distractions it brings with it probably doesn't bode well for an improved second season, which is set to premiere October 16th on AMC.
I thought the entire first season -- all six episodes of it at any rate -- was quite strong. A showrunner leaving though is serious business, particularly a sudden departure. Will be very interesting to see if Season Two can hold up... and hold its audience.