Kurt Sutter Slams AMC Over ‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner Glen Mazzara Exit
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter slammed AMC after it was announced that The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara would not be returning for the show’s fourth seasons.
Sutter said, “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, sh*t on their audience and bury their network.”
He also said that without Mazzara, The Walking Dead would suffer, and said that Breaking Bad and Mad Men would follow shortly after.
As we reported earlier, Mazzara’s departure from TWD came down to a difference of opinion between him and the network. AMC wanted the show to go one way, while Mazzara wanted it to go in another. AMC said Mazzara would stay on for the second half of season 3 as the showrunner and executive producer.
Mazzara said his time with the series “has been an amazing experience.”
Sutter wasn’t the only one upset about Mazzara’s departure. Shawn Ryan, producer of The Shield, criticized AMC on Twitter, saying in part, “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.”
The fourth season of The Walking Dead is expected to premier in October 2013. The season 3 winter finale “Made to Suffer” aired on December 2 and pulled in 10.48 million viewers in the US, the third highest viewership of the season. The season premiere, “Seed,” pulled in 10.87 million viewers, and the third episode, “Walk with Me,” received 10.51 million viewers.
The season 3B premiere, “The Suicide King,” will air February 10, 2013.
AMC is run by small-minded, bottom-line thinkers who have no appreciation or gratitude for the effort of it’s creative… say.ly/Hvg4Poo
— kurt sutter (@sutterink) December 22, 2012
Breaking my Twitter silence to comment: AMC, WTF?
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) December 21, 2012
Common knowledge that AMC cut Breaking Bad shorter than it should have been. Now you have creative differences w/ biggest hit’s savior?
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) December 21, 2012
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?
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) December 21, 2012
Do you agree with Kurt Sutter and Shawn Ryan?
