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Kurt Sutter Slams “Small-Minded” AMC Over ‘The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Exit

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday December 21, 2012 @ 5:08pm PSTTags: AMC, Glen Mazzara, Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead

UPDATE: Shawn Ryan, who, like Kurt Sutter, also got his big break on FX with The Shield, also took to Twitter to criticize AMC over showrunner Glen Mazzara’s departure from The Walking Dead. “AMC, WTF? Common knowledge that AMC cut Breaking Bad shorter than it should have been. Now you have creative differences w/ biggest hit’s savior? With FX, Showtime, HBO, Starz, Cinemax, A&E, TNT and others to sell to, it’s a real question now why good show runners should sell to AMC?”

PREVIOUS: Sons Of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter has never been hesitant to tell people how he really feels and today he really let AMC have it over showrunner Glen Mazzara leaving The Walking Dead. Taking to Twitter on Friday, Sutter called the network executives “small-minded, bottom-line thinkers who have no appreciation or gratitude for the effort of its creative personnel.” He also warned that without Mazzara at the helm the “future is dim” for The Walking Dead – and that’s the nice stuff. Read all of what Sutter had to say:

AMC is run by small-minded, bottom-line thinkers who have no appreciation or gratitude for the effort of its creative personnel. Time and time again we see events like what happened today with Glen Mazzara. They continue to disrespect writers, shit on their audience and bury their network. Mazzara took the work-in-progress that was “Walking Dead” and turned it into a viable TV show with a future. Without him, that future is dim. Showrunners are not development executives, we’re not cookiecutter douchebags that you plug into a preexisting model. TWD will suffer. Even Zombies need consistency. “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” will be gone soon. So will AMC. I hope their f*cking stock takes a dive and the shareholders line up (Josh) Sapan, (Charles) Dolan and (Charlie) Collier and shit in their open hands. C*nts.

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AMC Renews ‘The Walking Dead’, Glen Mazzara Steps Down As Showrunner

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday December 21, 2012 @ 9:37am PSTTags: Big Deals TV, Glen Mazzara, The Walking Dead
Nellie Andreeva

Another high-level showrunner departure for an AMC series. AMC just announced that it has renewed flagship drama The Walking Dead for a fourth season. But Glen Mazzara, who had served as showrunner following the abrupt departure of creator/original showrunner Frank Darabont early into the second season, is leaving. Speculations about Mazzara’s future on the show started when AMC didn’t follow its regular routine of giving The Walking Dead an early pickup despite the record-breaking ratings performance of the show’s recent fall portion of Season 3. There had been rumors that Mazzara was not happy on the show and may follow the slew of other showrunners who have departed AMC series – The Walking Dead‘s Frank Darabont, whom Mazzara succeeded, Rubicon creator/exec producer Jason Horwitch, who exited during production on its first and only season, and most recently Hell On Wheels showrunner John Shiban, who left after two seasons. (Additionally, the deals of Hell creators/executive producers Joe and Tony Gayton were not renewed after Season 2.) AMC also went through contentious renegotiations with Mad Men‘s Matt Weiner and Breaking Bad‘s Vince Gilligan. “AMC is a tough place,” one agent told me. Darabont tapped Glen Mazzara as an executive producer and his No. 2 heading into Season 2, after Mazzara wrote a freelance script in Season 2. Mazzara was quickly elevated to showrunner when Darabont left.

Related: Kurt Sutter Slams AMC Over Showrunner Exit

“Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways,” AMC and Mazzara said in a joint statement. “This decision is amicable and Glen will remain on for post-production on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer… AMC is grateful for his hard work. We are both proud of our shared success.” Here are individual statements from Mazzara and The Walking Dead executive producers Robert Kirkman, on whose comic the series is based, and Gale Anne Hurd: Read More »

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Man Shoots Girlfriend Over ‘Walking Dead’ Argument

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday December 5, 2012 @ 10:24am PSTTags: The Walking Dead

Jared Gurman of Long Island was arrested and charged with attempted murder after admitting shooting his girlfriend over an argument about the AMC zombie series The Walking Dead, according to Nassau County Police. According to NBC’s local NY … Read More »

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‘The Walking Dead’ Midseason Finale Draws 10.5 Million Viewers

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday December 3, 2012 @ 2:03pm PSTTags: AMC, The Walking Dead, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

AMC’s The Walking Dead wrapped the fall portion of its third season in style, logging a monster 10.5 million total viewers for the premiere 9 PM telecast and 15.2 million for the night, including two encores. That was just shy of the record-breaking 10.9 million Live+Same Day total viewers who tuned in to the third season premiere in October. Compared with Season 2 midseason finale in 2011, last night’s audience was up a whopping 58%. The Walking Dead midseason finale drew 6.9 million adults 18-49, up 54% vs. Season 2, and 6.0 million adults 25-54, up 52%. Both qualify as the second-highest deliveries for the zombie series behind the Season 3 premiere (7.3 million in 18-49, 6.1 million in 25-54). Read More »

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Dish Network Chief Says AMC Deal Could Pay Off With More Hits Like ‘Walking Dead’

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday November 6, 2012 @ 10:25am PSTTags: AMC Networks, Big Deals TV, Charlie Ergen, Dish Network, The Walking Dead

Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen can change his tune on an issue more elegantly than just about anyone in the media business. Consider how easily he just reversed himself in an analyst call where he explained his company’s agreement to resume carrying AMC Networks’ channels, which he dropped in June. He brought them back as part of the $700M deal to settle AMC’s breach of contract suit against Dish after it ended a 15-year agreement to carry the now defunct VOOM HD networks. Ergen noted that AMC’s hit The Walking Dead is “off the charts.” If the channel has more shows like that “then it will be a fair deal for us.” And he likes the AMC folks. “Absent the litigation we probably wouldn’t have gotten to that point” of dropping the channels. That’s a head-spinning shift from three months ago when he said it was a question of cost, not courts. AMC’s networks were too expensive, he said then, especially since “our customers are not looking at zombies in New York City… They live on farms and ranches.” What’s more, he preferred doing business with Mark Cuban, whose HDNet channels took the slots formerly held by AMC’s services.

Related: Dish Network Misses Q3 Expectations As It Absorbs VOOM And Hopper Costs Read More »

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Global Showbiz Briefs: ‘Walking Dead’, Donald Trump, Plus Camerimage, ‘The Taste’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday October 24, 2012 @ 1:45am PDTTags: Donald Trump, The Taste, The Walking Dead

‘The Walking Dead’s International Premiere Eats Competition
The highest-rated non-sports telecast among adults 18-49 on all of U.S. television this fall was the third season premiere of AMC’s zombie drama The Walking Dead. The international premieres weren’t too shabby either. Fox International Channels completed its weeklong rollout of the first episode of Season 3 with 8.5M viewers, up 20% on the Season 2 debut. The first episode of Season 3 premiered in 122 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, defeating all cable competition in its time period with total viewers, and in some cases also beating its broadcast competition. Among some of the key markets that outpaced last season’s start are Peru (up 155%); Chile (up 133%) and Australia (up 44%). Across Fox in Latin America, the show was number 1 among all Pay TV channels in the 18-49 demo, delivering double or triple ratings compared to the previous 6 weeks’ primetime channel average. Other strong territories included the UK, Poland and Spain, where the premier outperformed Fox’s primetime average in the market by 712%.

Donald Trump Tries To Stop BBC Airing Doc
Lawyers for Donald Trump reached out to the BBC two days before it was set to air Anthony Baxter’s documentary You’ve Been Trumped about the real estate mogul’s alleged bullying of residents near his golf resort in Scotland. The attorneys were trying to stop Sunday night’s BBC Two broadcast, claiming it was highly defamatory, biased and misleading, according to The Guardian. The Trump organization threatened to complain directly to British regulator Ofcom if the screening went ahead. But the BBC showed the doc anyway to about 1.1M viewers. The letter from Trump’s reps had also asked for a right of reply at the end of the broadcast. Trump International Golf Links exec VP, Sarah Malone, told The Guardian: “We totally denounce the BBC for further abandoning its own editorial integrity by blatantly refusing us a right of reply at the end of the broadcast.” Picking up on the unfolding – and unrelated – turmoil at the BBC, she added, “It just goes to show that recent criticism of the BBC’s lack of sound editorial judgment to be correct.” In reply, the BBC issued a statement: “You’ve Been Trumped is an award-winning Read More »

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October Surprise: NBC Tops Broadcast Nets In 18-49, ‘Walking Dead’ No.1 Show On TV

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 23, 2012 @ 7:00pm PDTTags: Homeland, NBC, Ratings, Revolution, The Walking Dead
Nellie Andreeva

ANALYSIS: With cable steadily gaining on broadcast, a cable show rising to the top of the ratings charts was just a matter of time. But who would’ve predicted just a coupe of years ago that it won’t be a series on established basic cable networks like TNT, TBS, USA Network or FX, which have been nipping at broadcasters’ heels, to do it but a drama on the once-obscure AMC? Yes, the highest-rated non-sports telecast among adults 18-49 on all of television this fall was the Season 3 premiere of AMC’s zombie drama The Walking Dead, which drew 7.3 million 18-49 viewers in Live+Same Day, with no carriage on major satcaster Dish Network no less.

Speaking of fall surprises, who would’ve predicted even a couple of months ago that NBC would leapfrog from fourth to first place this fall to dominate competitors among adults 18-49 by winning each of the first four weeks of the season for the first time in 10 years? That’s since fall 2002, when NBC’s Thursday lineup was anchored by Friends, Will & Grace and ER. NBC has now won seven weeks in a row in 18-49. The rise of NBC to the top of the broadcast standings and cable dramas’ ratings breakthrough highlight the fall season so far.

Related: FRESHMAN SERIES REPORT: Who Got Back Orders, Who Got Scripts, Who Got The Ax?

Read More »

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‘The Walking Dead’ Dips In Week 2, Still Tops All Non-Sports Programs On TV In 18-49

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 22, 2012 @ 12:45pm PDTTags: AMC, The Walking Dead
Nellie Andreeva

AMC‘s The Walking Dead came down a bit from the stratospheric heights of its third-season premiere last week but still delivered pretty staggering ratings. Last night’s Episode 2 of the show’s third season drew 9.5 million total … Read More »

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‘The Walking Dead’ Return Draws 10.9 Million, Sets More Basic Cable Ratings Records, Tops All Broadcast Series In 18-49

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 15, 2012 @ 12:50pm PDTTags: AMC, Ratings, The Walking Dead
Nellie Andreeva

Walking Dead Season 3 RatingsWhat Dish blackout? Last night’s Season 3 of AMC‘s The Walking Dead opened to 10.9 million total viewers, a big 50% increase vs. the show’s second-season premiere despite AMC’s loss of carriage on Dish Network systems. The Walking Dead’s Season 3 opener now ranks as the most-watched drama telecast in basic cable history. In adults 18-49 and 25-54, where the series already held the records, last night’s premiere set new benchmarks with 7.3 million adults 18-49, up 52% vs. the Season 2 premiere, and 6.1 million adults 25-54, up 46% (Live+Same Day). How staggering are those demo numbers? The Walking Dead‘s season premiere 18-49 average was higher than any broadcast series this season, excluding Sunday Night Football. The zombie drama topped Modern Family‘s season opener, which drew 7 million adults 18-49 in Live+ SD to lead the fall broadcast series pack.

Related: Ratings Rat Race: Slow Start For Baseball On Fox; ’666 Park Ave’ & ‘Once’ Down Read More »

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Dish Network Tells ‘Walking Dead’ Fans They Can Watch “Scary Movies” Instead

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday October 11, 2012 @ 3:56pm PDTTags: AMC, AMC Networks, Dish Network, The Walking Dead

I laughed out loud when I saw the satellite company’s Facebook message to its subscribers who won’t be able to catch the third-season premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead this Sunday — because … Read More »

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‘Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman Settles Suits From Former Collaborator

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday September 24, 2012 @ 3:10pm PDTTags: Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead

The deal reached today brings to a close separate suits against Robert Kirkman from his former comics partner Anthony Moore in federal court and the California Superior Court. No details were revealed about their “amicable agreement” today, in which … Read More »

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EMMYS: WGA Panel Reveals Angst & Jokes

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday September 19, 2012 @ 10:43pm PDTTags: Emmys, Homeland, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, WGA

The Walking Dead’s executive producer and writer Glen Mazarra moderated the evening. Although the popular AMC zombie show received a few 2012 Creative Arts Emmy nominations, it was dramatically overlooked this year when the primetime nods came out. … Read More »

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‘The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman Sued Again By Former Partner

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday August 8, 2012 @ 12:59pm PDTTags: AMC, Hollywood lawsuit, The Walking Dead

Robert Kirkman has been bitten with a second The Walking Dead lawsuit from his former collaborator Michael Anthony Moore. In a nine-page complaint (Read it here) filed Tuesday, Moore says he wants a jury trial and “a … Read More »

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“Hey Dish, Where’s My AMC” Video Contest Launched

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday August 6, 2012 @ 5:10pm PDTTags: AMC Networks, Dish Network, The Walking Dead

Dish AMC DisputeAMC has launched a “Hey Dish, Where’s My AMC?” viral video contest for the satcaster’s subscribers (non-subscribers can enter too) who are unhappy that Dish dropped all AMC Networks channels at midnight June 30 … Read More »

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AMC’s Zombies Remind New Yorkers About Dish Dispute: Video

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday July 31, 2012 @ 2:22pm PDTTags: AMC Networks, Dish Network, The Walking Dead

There’s been no movement in the Dish Network-AMC Networks dispute since June 30, which the companies carriage contract expired and AMC, IFC and WE TV were kicked off the Dish lineup. But AMC and one of its impacted shows, The Walking Dead, has taken to the Manhattan streets … Read More »

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Comic-Con: Universal Studios Scares Up ‘Walking Dead’ And ‘Silent Hill’ Themes For Halloween Horror Nights

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday July 13, 2012 @ 4:11pm PDTTags: Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, The Walking Dead, Universal Studios
Mike Fleming

Universal Studios is planning to announce at Comic-Con today that AMC’s The Walking Dead and the video game Silent Hill that spawned a movie franshise will be two of the featured themed attractions at the 2012 Halloween Horror Nights events. The … Read More »

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Comic-Con: ‘Walking Dead’ Season 3 Premiere Is October 14

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday July 13, 2012 @ 2:00pm PDTTags: AMC, Comic-Con, The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is coming back for a third season October 14 producer Glen Mazzara announced today. It will debut internationally the next day. The news came early in the AMC show’s panel at Comic-Con. The panel started off with … Read More »

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COMIC-CON TV PREVIEW: What To Watch For — July 11-13

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday July 9, 2012 @ 1:19pm PDTTags: Breaking Bad, Comic-Con, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead

Comic-Con 2012 PreviewIf you think Comic-Con is primarily for the big screen, think again. Television brings its heavy hitters and high hopes to the San Diego Convention Center too. This year’s mix goes for serial killers, science geeks, zombie plagues, misanthropes, drug kingpins, and fantasy warring kingdoms. There’s exclusive previews and premieres from Dexter, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, a Firefly anniversary panel with Joss Whedon and a full-court press from Game Of Thrones, to name a few. And that’s just if you stick to what’s going on in the ballrooms and halls. Some stuff will undoubtedly change, some will have to be skipped and some will pop up unexpectedly, but here’s a guide of what to look out for the first three days of the convention:

Related: COMIC-CON TV PREVIEW: What To Watch For – July 14-15

Wednesday, July 11
6 -9:45 PM — WBTV Sneak Preview Night
Wednesday night’s premiere screenings bring pilot episodes of five new shows for the 2012-13 season to Comic-Con. The evening starts with ABC’s elite Manhattan dark drama 666 Park Avenue, The CW’s Arrow and Fox’s The Following, produced by Kevin Williamson and starring Kevin Bacon. Eric Kripke, JJ Abrams and Jon “Mr. Comic-Con” Favreau’s post-apocalyptic Revolution, which will air on NBC, and CW’s midseason thriller Cult finish things off. There are also panels for The Following and Revolution on Saturday.

Related: Comic-Con: WTF Moments, Past & Potential Read More »

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‘Elysium’ Brings Jodie Foster To Comic-Con As Movies Rub Elbows With TV Series

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday June 29, 2012 @ 8:05pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Big Deals TV, Elysium, Game of Thrones, ParaNorman, The Walking Dead

Luke Y. Thompson is contributing to Deadline’s Comic-Con coverage. This year’s event runs July 12-15.

Comic-ConJodie Foster at Comic-Con? Absolutely believe it. She and Matt Damon will be part of a panel that day for Elysium, Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to District 9, which launched its initial ad campaign at Comic-Con (“this restroom is for humans only”) a year before actually showing footage there that really hyped things up. This is the biggest unknown quantity announced so far, the “we didn’t even know to be excited about it yet” item that could end up being the big-buzz item a la 300 (or, ahem, Sucker Punch). This news emerged today as Comic-Con continued its day-by-day rollout of what’s in store this year, releasing its schedule for Friday July 13. Elysium is surrounded on the Sony panel by Total Recall (they gave that a big push last year, and movies about to open seem less interesting to Con-goers) and Looper, which got a great reaction at Wondercon. Screen Gems’ latest Resident Evil sequel, which shared space with Looper and The Amazing Spider-Man at Wondercon, gets a panel all to itself, featuring all the usual regulars from the movies plus Michelle Rodriguez, somehow returning despite being killed in the first film. Read More »

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