Let’s take a moment to appreciate the success of Breaking Bad‘s Vince Gilligan, Mad Men‘s Matthew Weiner, Sons of Anarchy‘s Kurt Sutter, The Good Wife‘s Robert and Michelle King, Justified‘s Graham Yost, and Boardwalk Empire‘s Terence Winter, among others, all showrunners who have (generally) peacefully crafted their dramas in their own often brilliant vision — because sh*t’s about to get really frustrating and childish.
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 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 date, Kirkman has responded to the criticism only with a restrained tweet: “@sutterink is brilliant and Sons is my favorite show on TV. Still, it’s upsetting to see him ranting about things he knows nothing about.” AMC declined comment. (Via)
I know I’m not in The Business and have never eaten from a Craft Services Table and don’t have any Professional Escorts on my phone, but I’m a little skeptical when it comes to, “Especially for the second half of the season.” Under Mazzara’s watch, The Walking Dead went from frustratingly boring to still inconsistent, yes, but also highly entertaining and you’re not actively rooting for every character to “get it” anymore (only some). Why not just crowdsource showrunning to the Internet? That’s basically what’s happening anyway: “OK, first, this one zombie gets hit in the head with a shovel, and then another zombie has its brains splattered on the sidewalk, and then Maggie takes her top off, and then Daryl says something Classic Daryl-like, and then Michonne does something badass, and then 12,000 other zombies get it in the span of 31 seconds. THAT’S A WRAP EVERYONE. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to eat our weight in mini-hot dogs in our totally boss trailer.”
Or maybe the problem is no one wants to take credit for this.
