Although AMC's The Walking Dead continues to be a great success for the network, the shuffle of showrunners has certainly raised some eyebrows. Although the details of said "shuffles" have been mostly kept in house, the strife they've caused with initial showrunner Frank Darabont (THE MIST, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) have been evident and in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the filmmaker broke his silence on the issue.
When asked if he'd kept up with the show since he left, Darabont said:
Have not? Well I wouldn't know. Because, for the same reason that if the woman that I loved left me for the Pilates instructor and they sent me an invitation to their wedding, for the same reason I wouldn't go to the wedding, I haven't seen an episode of The Walking Dead since then.
Darabont elaborated on the issue of "washing his hands" of the show, saying:
Look, I really haven't spoken of this yet – I will, I'll get there – but I had to take some time off after that to really reassess everything, to really get over the emotional devastation of having some truly malevolent people tear asunder a brilliant family that had gathered to create this hit for them. It was a very, very deep and loving family, the cast and the crew, and to have that torn apart was – when somebody throws a hand-grenade into that situation, it's tremendously emotionally trying. So would I want to watch another episode of The Walking Dead after that? Are you fucking kidding me? No, you put that traumatic disappointment behind you and move on with your life.
Darabont exited the show under a storm of controversy, although it's not widely known what specifically caused his ousting. Personally, I felt that Darabont was the initial draw to the show, as he had done faithful and engaging adaptations before. Since his departure the show had remained a good watch, but is almost completely unrecognizeable from the original comics by Robert Kirkman. I'll always wonder what the show would be today if Darabont was still steering the ship.
Darabont is currently preparing to debut his new show, Mob City, which stars The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal, Simon Pegg, and Ed Burns. The show will air on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 on TNT.