‘The Walking Dead’: Scott Gimple Officially Named Showrunner

AMC has announced The Walking Dead supervising producer Scott Gimple’s promotion to executive producer and showrunner. Gimple will be taking over the reigns for the zombie drama’s fourth season, officially replacing Glen Mazzara.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Gimple was tapped to succeed Mazzara last month, making him the third showrunner in three years. Mazzara left the series over a difference of opinion about the direction the show should go in. It was rumored that Mazzara’s departure was instigated by Robert Kirkman, who wrote The Walking Dead graphic novels and acts as executive producer on the series.

Before Mazzara took over the show, Frank Darabont, the series creator, was fired early in The Walking Dead‘s second season for reasons that are still unknown.

According to Deadline, not only has Gimple been promoted, but so have co-executive producer Greg Nicotero and producer Tom Luse. Nicotero and Luse will also be bumped to executive producers, joining Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, and David Alpert.

AMC’s EVP Joel Stillerman said in a statement:

“Scott’s voice has been an integral one since he joined the show. Greg Nicotero is a true artist whose work is simply brilliant. And, Tom Luse has really created the machine that allows this very large show to get made week to week.”

Similarly, Kirkman said:

“Scott has been an essential part of this show since he came aboard at the very beginning of season two. He’s contributed to guiding this show in a substantial way that has resulted in a lot of the key scenes and storylines fans have dubbed signature moments of The Walking Dead. I am thrilled to begin work on a brand-new season of The Walking Dead with Scott at the helm, and I truly believe we could be embarking on what will be the best season of this show yet.”

Among the episodes Scott Gimple has written are episode 306, “Hounded,” in which Rick starts speaking to the dead on the prison telephone, and episode 207, “Pretty Much Dead Already,” which revealed Sophia’s fate.

Production of the fourth season of The Walking Dead will begin May 6 in Atlanta, Georgia.