‘Walking Dead’ creator reportedly fires all writers on freshman hit

According to a report on Deadline Hollywood, The Walking Dead creator Frank Darabont has fired all of the hit show’s writers going into the hotly anticipated second season. (Which isn’t, by the way, expected until October of OMG next year.)

The post in question seems to scale back the accusation halfway through, but in comments on the site, many people say Darabont is notoriously hard to work with. Fans of the show have reacted apprehensively, and the show has gotten mostly very-positive reviews while developing a pretty rabid fanbase.

The report says Darabont plans to complete the upcoming, larger second series of the hit show with freelance writers, a move that some say could anger the Writer’s Guild:

The freelance model is employed by the Starz/BBC series Tourchwood [sic], which in turn borrowed it from the U.K. where the show originated. Having BBC as producer has allowed Torchwood to proceed with no writing staff… And, while the first season of Walking Dead was only 6 episodes, its second-season order is for 13, which may prove harder to manage in pre-production, production and post-production with no writing staff. Sources tell me that no final decision has been made yet with all options open, including using some combination of a writing staff/freelances.

The New York Times spoke to AMC brass, who confirmed “changes” to the writing staff. AMC downplayed the scope of the changes, however, and added that Robert Kirkman, co-author of the comic book on which the series was based, was still on the project.

While this seems like an upsetting development for the series, feedback has been mixed over what is a well-produced and intensely compelling show. The changes could ultimately lead to a more universally appealing show- but either way, fans have a long ass while to wait.