The Walking Dead refuses to die.
The Hollywood Reporter has word that the AMC series The Walking Dead has been renewed by the cable network for a ninth season. Writer/co-executive producer Angela Kang has been promoted to executive producer and showrunner, replacing Scott M. Gimple, who will now serve as chief content officer and oversee both The Walking Dead and spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, as well as gaming and future brand extensions on multiple platforms. Kang becomes the fourth showrunner on The Walking Dead, after Frank Darabont, Glen Mazzara and Gimple.
The move follows the controversial decision by Gimple to fire Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl Grimes, and a signficant drop in ratings, which saw the midseason finale viewing drop from 10.58 million in Season 7 to 7.89 million in Season 8. A Change.org petition for Gimple to be fired as showrunner has currently reached over 82,000 signatures.
"The Walking Dead is a special show which started in an entirely different era of TV," remarked Gimple, "and continues, in this new era, to confidently take chances to tell compelling stories that excite audiences and make them deeply connect with its characters, adapting Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic book. As the show closes in on its tenth year, I’m honored to keep working with the talented, dedicated people behind and in front of the camera to make it all it can be, while expanding the world of The Walking Dead with new narratives like Fear the Walking Dead and a whole host of truly cool stories ahead. Angela is a big part of the heart and soul of The Walking Dead, and I’m thrilled to help facilitate her vision of the show’s next era."
"I am beyond thrilled to be stepping into this new role with The Walking Dead," said Kang. "Working on this series and having the opportunity to adapt Robert Kirkman’s amazing comic has been a fangirl dream come true for me. I’m excited to continue working with Scott and the wonderfully supportive folks at AMC, and can’t wait to share the next chapter of the story with our fans next fall."
"This is an enormously important day for the entire The Walking Dead television universe," said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. "We are proud to acknowledge Angela’s significant contribution to the series and to set a clear path forward for a ninth season under her direction. Further, with gratitude and admiration, we also recognize Scott’s broad impact on, and leadership of, the content that fuels our TWD universe. Together, we will dream bigger and more broadly than ever before. I know I speak for Angela, Scott and everyone at AMC when I say thanks most of all to the fans and the many talented people who have helped AMC play Dead."
According to the article, Gimple's deal comes after he added oversight of Fear the Walking Dead. Created by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson, Fear saw Erickson leave as showrunner at the end of Season 3. Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg will take over as showrunners on Fear and report to Gimple, Keeping Gimple in-house at AMC Studios became increasingly important after Kirkman chose to move his overall deal from AMC to Amazon.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC for the second half of Season 8 on February 25th.
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