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When Frank Darabont appeared on a Comic-Con panel July 22 to promote The Walking Dead, he didn't realize he was a dead man walking. Neither did the cast and crew. Everyone was shocked when news broke three days later that AMC had taken the extraordinary step of firing Darabont from the network's biggest ratings hit.

In hot, sticky Atlanta, where production on the second season had been under way since June, the cast was summoned to a lunch meeting with AMC vp scripted programming Ben Davis, who confirmed that Darabont was out. The crew was briefed separately. One insider says those gathered were stunned at "the duplicity of AMC" for having used Darabont to promote the show at Comic-Con before firing him. And they were angry about the lack of explanation; they were simply told, cryptically, "This isn't working." Above all, they were disheartened. "It's a crushing blow," says the insider. "Even when you have a hit, they can still destroy you."
Oh. Oh damn. That's not good. THR's story -- which goes on for quite some length, and is pretty interesting, if disheartening -- says Darabont turned in an episode with unusable footage, which is bad, but mainly fought and bitched about AMC's budget cuts on the show, which were a pretty massive $650,000. Although AMC is reportedly being as evil as they can be -- the show was getting a pretty sizable tax credit for filming in Georgia, and instead of putting that money to the show's budget, as in the first season, AMC just decided to keep it. Also:
There also have been no public comments from the cast, and a source with knowledge of the situation says AMC has been "terrorizing" them and their representatives to discourage them from speaking out on Darabont's behalf. "They're scared," confirms another insider. "They're on a zombie show. They are all really easy to kill off."
Man, you know what also makes for productive employees? By threatening to fire them for criticizing you for stupid decisions. That's just great. Oh, but don't worry -- AMC had some very helpful ideas how to keep those costs down!
But this source says that AMC had its own ideas about how to make the show more cheaply. The show shoots for eight days per episode, and the network suggested that half should be indoors. "Four days inside and four days out? That's not Walking Dead," says this insider. "This is not a show that takes place around the dinner table." That was just one of what this person describes as "silly notes" from AMC. Couldn't the audience hear the zombies sometimes and not see them, to save on makeup? The source says Darabont fought "a constant battle to keep the show big in scope and style."
DAAAAANG. The story also confirmed one other thing -- that Walking Dead was AMC's most viewed show, far more than critical darlings Mad Men and Breaking Bad, by a large margin. So, in summary: AMC fired the dude most responsible for their most popular series, cut the budget drastically, terrorized the crew, and basically advised that the show become shittier in many significant ways, just to pocket some cash. Awesome. You know, I thought Fox and SyFy were the only genuinely evil and stupid TV networks out there, but I guess there's always room for one more!

You know what's funny? It's that Walking Dead had it right all along. The real danger isn't zombies -- it's other humans.

.....Copypasted from Topless Robot


So much for the theories of money being siphoned off for "more successful" shows like mad men and breaking bad....what with Walking Dead being the 'most viewed'?

If they ruin this series, and I know cable companies or AMC wont care, I'm cutting my cable off again. I'm not going to pay for programming when they ruin nerd-gems like this one just b/c some network executive is thinking "who gives a damn...its just zombies."

Man...screw AMC, and here I thought this might be a network that I could count on.

DAAAAMMNNN!

Whats really sad is I read that the guy spent a few years trying to get this show on the air in the first place. He went though all that, made an awesome successful show, and was then fired.

Melchiour wrote:Whats really sad is I read that the guy spent a few years trying to get this show on the air in the first place. He went though all that, made an awesome successful show, and was then fired.

Yes, he did...he fought for this show to even get on the air, then ,despite it's huge success...got shafted by AMC.
...But hey...at least they're saving money...and that's whats really important...right?...bastards.

I find myself torn. I like the show, but am tempted to boycott. Half of me wants to see show go on and be awesome, half wants to see it fail to teach damn execs a lesson.

It just seems like a crap situation all way round..
Shame that even though the show was AMCs most successful and was being done " right" as far as most fans were concerned ,the "bean counters" have to come along and screw things up..
...I'll watch the second season...if for no other reason than to see my current favorite show go down in flames...

Amen to that FITZZ!

Star Trek has always been my A-no1 show ever. Never since Star Trek have I ever wanted to own a TV show on DVD/BLU RAY so bad and watched it over and over....

Then Walking Dead comes along and here I have a new show to geek out on. A show that actually FORCES me to not only RECONNECT cable in my home but get TIVO so that I don't miss a single episode after it's aired.

Then they do this to me.

I suppose cable can get disconnected JUST as easily as it was connected....it's a crying shame.

I think I'm going to go write a well written letter of disappointment without hate to AMC stating that I'm disappointed as a TV watcher and then write a STRONG letter of support to Kirkman telling hime I'm sorry that AMC is about to Bastardize his creation.

AMC - Story Matters Here... unless it's expensive

Crablezworth wrote:AMC - Story Matters Here... unless it's expensive

Seems to be sadly true...

@ Shane...I hear you man, TWD was the first show in a LONG time that I actually got excited about and geniuenly looked forward to watching every week..
I have the first 6 episodes DVR'ed and watch them constantly, and up until the recent news about Darabont was anxiously awaiting season two...now...I'm pretty crestfallen I must admit...
Really a shame when a network finally gets something right and then gaks all over it...

ah well, I'll watch it still, but I'm just gonna DVR it and get to it "whenever" .. sounds like a clusterfluff all around

Fuuuuuuuu

I love(d) AMC too.

Really? I mean really?

...

...

This makes me wonder why I watch TV anymore...I really like that show and it was one of those things where I watched the first show and was like "Oh this is based off of a comic book?" And so I went out and read the comic book and was excited to see that put onto screen...

"Yep, the show did amazing but we're going to cut it despite all the hard work that was put into making it a reality because we don't give a damn." Is all I read there...

Where do people step off these days?

Man, I only discovered that show recently by watching the first episode at a friends house.

Well, at least I've still got the rest of season 1.

I guess in AMC's defense, the shows 2nd season is suppose to have something like 13 episodes, compared to the first seasons 6? so I can understand wanting to try and save some money. But thats about as much as I can defend them. The rest of what Ive read on this whole crapfest just makes AMC seem like a bunch of donkey-caves.

While I did enjoy the show, I wouldn't be that bothered if it doesn't get another season.

It sounds like the new series is on the pathway to being crap and unfinished, and it's supposed to air in october...

Perhaps a rival tv network will make their own zombie apocalypse show...

Well, yet again, I see a TV show, I wind up liking it, and then after a season or two of AWESOME the network that owns them pulls this crap. In summary:

AMC gave us Breaking Bad. Which is the best show I have ever watched, they have a right to do what they like. I would rather they have the money for Breaking Bad then some silly second rate zombie show

Sanateaph wrote:AMC gave us Breaking Bad. Which is the best show I have ever watched, they have a right to do what they like. I would rather they have the money for Breaking Bad then some silly second rate zombie show

Funny you would call TWD "second Rate" when it's AMC's highest rated show ever.

If TWD is a second rate show, but it's AMC's HIGHEST rated show then I suppose "Breaking Bad" is just plain TV dog$hit programming.

...but it's Sanateaph's "best show evar". What does that say about his taste in TV?

Sanateaph wrote:AMC gave us Breaking Bad. Which is the best show I have ever watched, they have a right to do what they like. I would rather they have the money for Breaking Bad then some silly second rate zombie show

I've only seen a few episodes of Breaking Bad, and I don't get the hype. It just doesn't seem particularly compelling.

The problem with the Walking Dead is that it's a drama series set in a horror/action world. Plus, a lot of the series was silly (camp Nozombies, driving into downtown Atlanta to get supplies, and the episodes at the CDC). Hopefully it gets a little more interesting and serious in the next season. But given the news provided here, it sounds like they're going the "Mad Men" route of character development rather than telling a fun zombie story.

Ah well. I'll DVR a few episodes and see if Season 2 is worth it.

Deadshane1 wrote:If TWD is a second rate show, but it's AMC's HIGHEST rated show then I suppose "Breaking Bad" is just plain TV dog$hit programming.

...but it's Sanateaph's "best show evar". What does that say about his taste in TV?

That my taste is impeccable. Just because a show has zombies and thus brings in a few hundred thousand more viewers does not make it a better show. TWD is Jeremiah with zombies. Congrats your show got emmy nods for makeup and sound editing! Must be a great show!

Eh the show was mediocre at best anyway. Amc did screw that guy over though.

Sanateaph wrote:

Deadshane1 wrote:If TWD is a second rate show, but it's AMC's HIGHEST rated show then I suppose "Breaking Bad" is just plain TV dog$hit programming.

...but it's Sanateaph's "best show evar". What does that say about his taste in TV?

That my taste is impeccable. Just because a show has zombies and thus brings in a few hundred thousand more viewers does not make it a better show. TWD is Jeremiah with zombies. Congrats your show got emmy nods for makeup and sound editing! Must be a great show!

Disagree all you like....a quick trip to Wikipedia is all you need to see that we're talking about a quality show here....

[edit] Reception[edit] Critical receptionThe series has received universal acclaim. The first season scored 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 25 reviews.[41] Nancy deWolf Smith from The Wall Street Journal said that the "pilot episode [is] so good that it has hooked even a zombie hater like me." She said that what made the show so good was that it feels real and looks cinematic.[42] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com included the show on their list of 9 new TV shows to not miss, giving it a grade of "A", with the author saying "A film-quality drama series about zombies? Somebody pinch me!"[43]

[edit] RatingsThe pilot received 5.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched premiere episode of any AMC television series[44] The first season finale received 6 million viewers, a series high; with 4 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic, making it the most watched basic cable series for the demographic.[45]

In the United Kingdom, it premiered one week after it did in the United States, on November 5, 2010 on cable channel, FX. The premiere had 579,000 viewers, almost double for any other show on FX that week. The viewership dipped during the season then rose to 522,000 viewers for the final episode.[46] The terrestrial premiere on Channel 5 on April 10, 2011, averaged 1.46 million viewers.[47]

[edit] Awards and nominationsThe Walking Dead was nominated for Best New Series for the 2011 Writers Guild of America Awards.[48] It was nominated for Best Television Series Drama at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.[3] It was also named during the American Film Institute Awards 2010 as one of the top 10 television programs of 2010.[49] For the 2011 Saturn Awards, the series received six nominations—for Best Television Presentation, Andrew Lincoln for Best Actor in Television, Sarah Wayne Callies for Best Actress on Television, Steven Yeun for Best Supporting Actor in Television, Laurie Holden for Best Supporting Actress in Television, and Noah Emmerich for Best Guest Starring Role in Television.[50] The series was nominated for Best Drama Series at the inaugural 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards.[51] The pilot episode "Days Gone Bye" is nominated for three awards for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards—Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.[52]

[edit] References

...and thus, your trolling is rendered inneffective. Thank you, drive thru please.

TWD was reasonably compelling watching, enough for me to say up a bit late anyway (I'm getting old what can I say).

The budget cuts could be okay, It might mean allot less money spent on pointlessly gory close ups death scenes and expensive (to hire) but ultimately unused pieces of US Army hardware hanging about - 50 cals should be used & Abrams should be driven where ever possible!

Season 1 of Breaking Bad.

The first season of Breaking Bad was nominated for four Emmy Awards, and won two:
Bryan Cranston won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter White.
Lynne Willingham won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series for the "Pilot".
John Toll was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a One-Hour Series for "Pilot".
Vince Gilligan was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for "Pilot".
The first season also won:
A Writers Guild of America award for Episodic Drama - Vince Gilligan - "Pilot"
A Satellite Award - Best Actor in a Series, Drama - Bryan Cranston as Walter White
A Prism Award - Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline

Oh look I can wiki too! Hey man its cool ya dig zombies! Lots of people do, as your last post informs and I already acknowledged, just be happy you get more zombies to look at for another season.

Pwnd, Crystal Meth Pwnd

TWD is my favorite show by far, this sucks.

Not surprising, with how many fething plot holes the first series opened up. I understand artistic license, but jesus feth, follow the first series of the original story to set up the tone and setting. I did like the wife aspect from the man and son who helped him out, that was a bit of character development that was done well.

This is pretty depressing.

While the network appears to deserve a lot of blame, from what I've read AMC had to make some budget cuts after paying through the nose to keep Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Darabont might think TWD deserves to be insulated from that, but the show definitely isn't...especially since AMC actually owns TWD, giving Darabont little leverage (he can't shop it elsewhere).

Certainly the situation is a shame and the network may have made some silly suggestions. But budget realities also are what they are and everyone has to deal with them.

Sad, seems another one of those money men pulling the rug from under a good shows feet, I've sadly seen so many tales about over the years.

Real pity, as I watched the first episode, but not got around to watching the rest, was going to pick up the season DVD, and from what I have seen posted about the comic, this could have run well for a long time.

Especially with that calibur of visionary at the helm, okay the Mist ending ticks me off, especially as a fan of the book, but you can't easily knock Shawshank Redemption or the Green Mile and to be fair I enjoyed the rest of the Mist as well.

Once again a TV network has annoyingly stupid/silly/weird/all three? people in charge making the important decesions, and this comes from a devoted Farscape fan.