Holy crap. Check out this article in the Hollywood Reporter. It details the savage firing of Frank Darabont from the successful show he shepherded into production last year, AMC’s The Walking Dead. To summarize, he was fired for trying to fix an episode the network had deemed unfixable. Obviously, they waited to can him until after he had promoted the show at Comic Con. Ruthless. Also, the cast is terrified to say anything to the press for fear of getting sacked (it’s a zombie show, they are all expendable) and Darabont isn’t talking until his final settlement is negotiated.

Darabont isn’t known for keeping mum about things that piss him off, so expect the fine details to emerge eventually. What this means for the show is anyone’s guess, and I know a lot of people had problems with the first season, but I kind of doubt Darabont’s leadership was one of them. I can’t imagine a terrified cast (although it is a horror show) and a messy showrunner changeover like this will help, but who knows. I’m sure lots of crazy shit has gone down on shows before that didn’t interfere with the quality of the episodes. But still, this is a nasty bit of business, that’s for sure.

I’m going to go on record and say regardless of how it affects the show, this sucks. Boo AMC.