...Figuratively, if not literally. It's AMC's The Walking Dead, a zombie apocalypse series that's been one of my favorite new shows of the fall television season. The show's drawn high ratings, and AMC has already renewed it for a second season. So you'd think that producer/director Frank Darabont would keep his writing staff intact for Season 2, right? WRONG.In the news today is the startling announcement that Darabont has given all of The Walking Dead's writers (including Darabont's former righthand man) their walking papers faster than George Romero turns out Night of the Living Dead sequels. (Maybe Darabont has become a deranged zombie himself, explaining the rash behavior?)
The linked story surmises that Darabont's harsh move is likely just a big powerplay, since Darabont is reportedly looking to bring in a slew of freelance writers (instead of an actual replacement writing staff) for Season 2. "Freelancers do as they're told, if they want to work," notes the article.
But I wouldn't think that bringing in a bunch of freelancers and eschewing the continuity of even keeping one or two of the old writers around would bode particuarly well for Season 2. We shall see. As it stands, Season 1 has been pretty good -- clearly a grade or two better than your standard Zombie-apocalypse fare (and I've watched a lot of it).
Why mess around with that formula? As the linked story's headline very cleverly borrows from the classic line from the original Night of the Living Dead -- "they're fired, they're all messed up."
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