AMC has released the official poster for the return of The Walking Dead season 3, which is set to premiere on Sunday February 10th! I can't wait to see the series return, and it's going to be awesome to see how they conclude it. The series was recently greenlit for a fourth season, but showrunner Glen Mazzara will not be returning. There's actually been a little drama surrounding that.
It seems like comic book writer and producer Robert Kirkman is being blamed for Mazzara's firing. He was called out by name by showrunners Shawn Ryan (Last Resort) and Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) on Twitter. Ryan tweeted, "It's a real question now why good showrunners should sell to AMC," and Sutter followed that up with a tweet saying that AMC sent him "a gift basket filled with … broken promises and the marinated tongue used to lick Kirkman's ass."
According to THR Sutter then went on to denounce AMC "for departing from a cable culture that generally allows showrunners more creative freedom than do the broadcast networks. Kirkman, he added, 'is an amazing visual artist and a graphic artist [but] knows very little about TV, and the reins keep going back to him in this process, and he doesn't know how to run a show.'"
Insiders confirm that Kirkman, is "very proprietary," and that "I believe Robert wants to maintain a certain amount of his control, and AMC needs Robert for the fan base." They also say he had issues with the direction that Mazzara wanted to take the show. Kirkman has responded to Sutter tweeting, "@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."
Doesn't the entertainment business sound like fun?! Here's the press release that came along with the poster above.
With his group in tatters, his sanity in question, and his own son questioning his every move, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) must somehow pull everyone together to face their greatest challenge -- the Governor (David Morrissey). In order to survive, he must risk everything, including the group's very humanity.
Season three's mid-season finale aired December 2, making "The Walking Dead" the first cable series in television history to reign as the biggest show of the fall season among Adults 18-49, beating out all broadcast and cable entertainment series. The episode totaled 15.2 million viewers for the night.
Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, “The Walking Dead” tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The series stars Andrew Lincoln, Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey and Danai Gurira.