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UPDATE from Deadline’s TCA reporter Ray Richmond: AMC’s SVP original programming Joel Stillerman spoke briefly about the Walking Dead showrunner change at the top of the network’s panel for its upcoming period drama Hell On Wheels, which will premiere Nov. 6. (AMC’s official statement below). “I wanted to give a very heartfelt thank you to Frank Darabont, who is a visionary writer and director,” Stillerman said. “He wrote and directed a brilliant pilot, and we’re grateful for his contributions to the show.” He wouldn’t elaborate on the circumstances behind the change. “We’re excited to move on with Glen (Mazzara), that’s about all I’ll say on that.”
Stillerman also addressed the viewer outrage over the inconclusive Season 1 finale of The Killing. “I think the major takeaway for us is that we certainly would have taken a different approach to managing the expectations (of the Season 1 finale),” he said. “It was never our intention to mislead…We didn’t manage the expectations the way they should have been managed.” And he made a promise: “Viewers will definitely find out who killed Rosie Larsen in Season 2.” As for AMC’s flagship series, Mad Men, creator Matt Weiner and his team are breaking stories in the writers room for the upcoming Season 5 and writing scripts. Production starts on August 8, with Jon Hamm making his directorial debut on the first episode as previously reported.
PREVIOUS 8 AM: AMC, which hosts a TCA panel for its upcoming period drama Hell On Wheels this morning, just addressed the recent changes on its highest-rated series The Walking Dead, confirming that creator/executive producer/director Frank Darabont has stepped down as showrunner and that his No. 2, writing executive producer Glen Mazzara, has been elevated to the role. Here is the statement:
The Walking Dead’s Glen Mazzara, writer and executive producer, is expanding his responsibilities to assume the role of showrunner. AMC is grateful to executive producer, writer and pilot director Frank Darabont whose contributions to the success of The Walking Dead are innumerable. We continue to discuss his ongoing role with the series.
Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead graphic novels, executive producer and writer on the series, will remain in this role and will continue to steward the brand. Gale Anne Hurd will remain in her role as Executive Producer. The production continues on schedule for an October 16th premiere.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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What is wrong with that network?? First they show awful movies that aren’t really ‘Classics’ (Money Train), then they drop the ball on Mad Men, then The Killing season finale is a bomb (probably because if they did reveal who killed her, why watch the next season), and now Darabont leaves. The only good thing (worth watching) are marathons of Three Stoges, The Godfather triology, and the Rocky movies.
Ahem…and Breaking Bad, the best show currently on television.
Well, they still have Breaking Bad, the best show on television.
Breaking Bad is still the best show on television…
Ummm… Don’t forget about that tiny little show called Breaking Bad.
Yeah, Yeah and Breaking Bad – the best yada yada yada. That’s another hour a week for the few months it is shown a year.
I can’t believe anybody is complaining about the Killing finale, and worse still is that they are apologizing for it. Stand by your work!
It’s not exactly the first cliffhanger, so what’s the problem? They hooked you, you want more, isn’t that good?
No one wanted more. They wanted it to be over.
Ha! Too true…
Well, not 100% true. I was excited for more, in terms of another murder, another season, another killer…
What I don’t need more of is the same murder, the same season, the same killer, the same sobbing parents, the same missed wedding…
Egh.
s
That is inaccurate. Lots of folks love The Killing, and not just because they want it to be over.
That logic is mind-numbing.
No, the reason why people are complaining is because it’s another red herring like any of the others during the season. One person is a suspect then they are cleared. There’s no sense of “Who dunnit?” This is the problem with Hollywood is they copy what has been “successful.” Lost started this crap where the objective is just to throw in surprises simply to start watercooler talk the next day. The Killing has no fantastic elements to work with. They can just point the finger at a suspect and now everyone will know it’s a red herring. The producer Veena Sud even said she didn’t care. She only cared that people were talking about it. So if she’s running the show, it’s not going to last long and I imagine the next season will have lesser number of viewers.
I don’t know why people were so outraged re: The Killing’s final episode for season One. It just followed one of the time honored TV-hooks/traditions: season finale cliffhanger.
What’s the big deal? Okay, so yes, the Killing was a bit slow moving at times, but:
• the main characters are interesting and complex,
• excellent writing, superior mystery,
• mostly well-conceived subplots,
• great clues and red herrings —
so overall I give the series an A- for all that plus being head and shoulders above 95% of the dreck on television.
Don’t let the basTurds get you down, Rosie Larson Justice Seekers!
by,
Fan of The Killing
& Looking forward to Mad Men!
[However the comments about how gawdawful most of the movies on AMC are is right on target.]
Actually bland writing and average season Mystery. FX Terriers did the last great season murder/land deal mystery. Check it out. Then you know why you “Perception is very clouded.
I am so sick of hearing people whine about The Killing. Nearly every single show on TV ends their seasons with some sort of cliffhanger. But for some reason when The Killing has one everybody loses their mind. Where was all this outrage when we didn’t see what was in the hatch at the end of the first season of Lost? The Killing is an amazing show. Brilliantly written, directed and acted. Yet all that has to be overshadowed because a big mouthed, whiney minority on the internet doesn’t have the patience to wait a few months to get all the answers they need for their lives to be complete.
I don’t get why people were so outraged by The Killing’s finale. It’s not an ordinary cookie-cutter mystery/crime drama and has never tried to be one. In-fact, the creator stated “it’s taking the genre and turning it on its head” in a behind-the-scenes first look. They also never said the killer would be revealed in one season, just that it followed 13 days of a murder investigation. From what I have heard, the killer will be revealed in the very beginning of the second season and a new murder investigation will begin. I loved the finale, because it made you feel everything was completed and then tossed some huge twists which are now cliffhangers.
As for The Walking Dead, I’m not sure what to think about Darabont leaving. I heard it was because he never could get used to working with TV. It could either hurt the show or help it, according to many opinions it will help the show. I guess time will tell.
I also cannot wait for Mad Men to return, hope they got some more great storylines!
Darabont may have a spotty and troubled track record within the industry, but has anyone looked carefully at Gale Anne Hurds collaborations. As a producer it’s no secret that she doesn’t play well with others and she likes being in control at all times. She’s worked with an A list of producers, but not too many have opted to repeat the performance with her. Once appears to be enough, at least with the majority of her colleagues. Maybe Darabont’s departure isn’t entirely on Darbont given Hurd isn’t a walk in the park either.
With commercials every 3 minutes….
AMC=All Mostly Commercials
Wait – so the councilman didn’t kill the girl in “the killing”?
Man, I’m glad I stopped watching that show halfway through the season…
Man, am I glad you stopped watching, too. Maybe now the rest of us will be spared having to listen to you sound off on the topic of a show you don’t even watch.
I agree, what is AMC’s problem. they launch interesting programs and then they seem to go out of their way to make stupid decisions.
I really don’t care who killed Rosie Larsen anymore, the 2 episode opener was riveting and it was pretty much down hill from there,
culminating in the worst finale ever.
” we didn’t manage the expections” that in itself is annoying. That executive should be fired.
Thanks for this story. I’m on episode 4 (in the UK) of The Killing and now I think I’ll give up. What’s the point? I was watching it hoping for a wrap in the finale. It’s just a murder for Pete’s sake. Season two could have been a different crime. Ho-hum.
Season 2 will be a different crime, the Rosie Larson killer will be revealed early on in season 2. They never promised the case would be solved in season 1.
We (viewers) never promised them that we will be back in second season
So no offenses right? When their rating will fall twice in second season. And then it will be canceled.
Where the hell is Jonathan Hensleigh’s RED MARS project?
I know of a few people who watch The Killing. NONE OF US WILL BE TUNING IN NEXT SEASON. 0. I am not exaggerating nor am I trying to stir the pot. I don’t even comment here much.
It’s ridiculous what AMC did, and their apologies for the show’s writers are completely hollow. TV critics and fans alike blasted AMC for wasting 13 hours of our lives, and the best they can do is a couple of dumb statements.
What a bunch of manure. The Killing didn’t do anything wrong. It didn’t even do anything that a thousand other shows haven’t done, and will continue to do until TV stops being TV.
The question is, why are you sounding off about it here? I would think you’d have better things to do with your, ahem, precious time.
Anybody defending The Killing here is either a plant or didn’t watch the show. For real. Because there’s no way anyone who is sane would defend that season. The season finale red herring (don’t call it a cliffhanger!) was just the final slap in the face for a bunch of red herring episodes that grated on the nerves of everyone watching the show. We only stuck around for resolution, and we didn’t even get that.
If you’re on episode 4, just stop, give up, do not continue. If you’re interested in the mystery, just read website synopses. It’s much faster and far more interesting.
If you can’t handle some good television and creative decisions that separate a show from broadcast procedural crap, don’t watch The Killing.
How poorly can someone manage spin? Watch Joel Stillerman fumpfle through his panel. The original Danish show did not solve the murder in the first season so they are being loyal to the underlying material. Why not say that? Why equivocate and make yourself seem as though you are clueless as to the decisions you made? I know they have Breaking Bad, but it wasn’t even their development, it was FX’s! As to Darabont, could Joel Stillerman be more back handed in thanking him for writing and directing a brilliant pilot. Ouch…
Everyone hated the Killing finale because we hoped the resolution would be our reward for putting up with a season’s worth of increasingly bad writing.
1. After a few episodes the Midge storyline became grief porn–watch grieving mother emote! Watch her become a totally unsympathetic character!
2. The political storylines felt forced and hackneyed, and had the complexity of a high school play. Richmond plays hardball and then must watch as the reporters swarm his opponent’s mistress. Do you understand Richmond’s anguish??? DO YOU????
3. The best and most interesting character, Holder, is completely ruined by the finale. Completely. A wonderful and complex performance is put to waste. It is as if the show betrayed him, and the viewers’ faith in him.
Finally, AMC promoted this show by asking, “Who Killed Rosie Larsen?” And it did not answer that question. Anyone who read anything about the show early on would know that it was based on a Danish series that answered the question in one season. I guess that was not appropriately managing expectations. But it would have been forgivable if it had been a better show.
AMC talks a good game about story mattering above all else, but The Walking Dead, the Killing, and Rubicon had good pilots and little else. Mad Men quickly became an empty suit. Breaking Bad is amazing, and that’s it.
Anyone who has seen the Danish series knows that the questions was NOT answered in the first season.
One of the most exciting hours of television ended with one whopper of a cliffhanger….”We have to back, Kate!”
As you said, despite the pedigree of AMC and the great reviews of the Danish production, the final product was painfully bad.
That it was a cliffhanger….who cares?
That is was awful….yeah…I cared about that part.
I’m glad I quit watching The Killing after the first few episodes. I refuse to watch anymore “lead me by the nose each week” BS shows.
Yup. It’s back to formulaic network nonsense with you!
Enjoy.
If American viewers were angered and frustrated over the season 1 finale of “The Killing”, then they had better prepare themselves for season 2. If the AMC writers follow a storyline similar to that of the original Danish series (“Forbrydelsen”), I predict that American viewers will be throwing things at their television screen if they don’t throw the TV itself out the window.
The original series had its own flaws, many of which angered Danish fans, including a resolution to the original murder case that pointed the finger at a suspect, whose M.O. most decidedly did not match that of the autopsy findings, and whose motive made no sense in light of his relationship to the victim or his own criminal background.
Ruining our faith in Holder, well that was kind of the point, wasn’t it? Build up his good will so that it hides his role? You can’t possibly disappointed that a COP BENT THE RULES, can you? For all we know, he just acted to do what he thought was right because he was sure the councilman did it.
The only infuriating thing about THE KILLING is that the cops seemed a bit slow, and didn’t perform due diligence even though they are supposed to be the best investigators. The red herrings are forgivable because they are there to play on our own fears and prejudices, which are supposed to be reflected by the officers. To be angered at them is to miss the thematic points of the series.
Dear MLF,
The reason the people at AMC make stupid decisions is because the people who run the channel are STUPID. Makes sense, don’t ya think.
The Killing was dead on arrival and can’t blame the creative head the great Svengali himself Mikkel “i am god” Bondesen. Biggest problem is the horrific writing plain and simple. Go Mikkel go.
Back up. Why did Frank Darabont leave? Pleeeeeease tell me something delicious
….And he made a promise: “Viewers will definitely find out who killed Rosie Larsen in Season 2.” ….
_____________________
Dear mister Stillerman – EVERYONE STOPPED CARING about Rosie Larsen killer in 5 or 6 episode. In the end of every episode you pointed to us another possible killer. And then in the next episode you were like: “Oh you silly people. He is not the killer. This is new killer”. There were so many fake killers that at the end no one cared about real one. Everyone just wanted to get over with it in finale. We were ready to find out who killed that damned Rosie and FINALLY move on to another cases next season.
And those boring parents of Rosie were suppose to gone. And that boring politician too. Everyone except our favorite detectives should have gone. But then in the final you told us that all those boring people will torture us with their boringness in second season too…
So sorry – no matter how cool trailer of the second season you will release – I will not buy this again. I was so disappointed with it that I will never watch it again. Because it’s too damn boring. And you will show us “real” killer and then in next episode you will be like: “No you silly. We lied to you. This is not the killer. Black smoke killed Rosie. Oh no, it was polar bear. Oh no, it was Barry. Let’s go time travel. Or let’s jump 5 years in the future”
Um…. “All Mostly” is an oxymoron.
What happened to AMC? They are really letting the channel go down the toilet.
The Killing debacle wasn’t about the ending. It was the increasingly poor quality of the show. The ending wasn’t a “cliffhanger”; it reset the story so that none of what came before mattered or meant anything. This case has no clues. There has not been any forensic works. The detectives don’t find and interpret clues, all their leads seem to come randomly out of nowhere. The writing on this series was horrible. Veena Sud and all the defendors of this series just make off the cuff remarks about how “The show is just too smart for you, go back to network procedurals.” Bogus. AMC attracts a lot of smart viewers and I think you would be surprised at how many people who watch AMC shows are probably familiar with some of the great crime writers like Raymond Chandler, Samuel Fuller, Jim Thompson or films like Serpico, Chinatown along with more contemporary fare like The Wire and Zodiac. They can see The Killing for the threadbare trash it is.
AMC passed on all it’s pilots in development but are launching a new series called “The Pitch”. The idea of the show is to get various corporate sponsors (Yahoo and Coke have already signed on) to judge presentations made by real Madison Avenue firms competing against each other. The whole thing stinks of an infomercial and I can’t believe AMC has the galls to try and pass this off on their viewers. (or think that they are stupid enough to fall for such a ploy) Apparently they have been having difficulty finding firms willing to appear on the show. Go figure.
AMC was creatively strong and exciting for a long time. They’ve been hiring all these executives from other networks over the last year. Too bad they’re all bean counters and don’t know anything about art.
I have no problem with AMC going with unknown talent but am a little shocked that they’ve passed on television projects from David Fincher, Gus Van Sant, Darren Aronofosky who all have a string of brilliant credits to their name. I guess Charlie doesn’t think they are good enough compared to “The Killing” and “The Pitch”. lol
Money Train is a damn good movie.