Glen Mazzara To Succeed Frank Darabont As ‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner

EXCLUSIVE: The Walking Dead executive producer Glen Mazzara is taking the reins of AMC’s  The Walking Dead following the exit of creator/executive producer/showrunner Frank Darabont. Deadline broke the news last night that Darabont is stepping down as showrunner of the series he shepharded to the small screen, with Mazzara as a candidate to replace him. According to sources close to the hit zombie drama, Mazzara, who joined the show at the beginning of Season 2 as No. 2 to Darabont, will now indeed be the series’ new showrunner. He remains an executive producer alongside Robert Kirkman, on whose comic the series is based, and Gale Anne Hurd. It is still unclear if Darabont will stay on and in what capacity as those conversations are still ongoing. “We hired Glen Mazzara as our Number 2 in the room,” Darabont said in a Deadline interview last month. “We consider him our head writer and he’s just a fantastic asset.” Production on Season 2 of Walking Dead has not been interrupted by the showrunner change, and the series remains on target for an Oct. 16 premiere. Mazzara has been part of The Walking Dead since Season 1 when he wrote one of the six episodes as a freelancer. The Shield alum Mazzara recently served as showrunner on the first season of Starz’s Crash and the second season of Hawthorne.