Walking Dead Creator: The Writers Sacked Story Has Been Blown Out Of Proportion

Robert Kirkman sets the record straight about the backroom changes for season two

“It’s kind of unfortunate that it’s being reported that our writing staff has been fired because that’s not the case,” Kirkman tells TVGuide.com . “It makes Frank look bad. I don’t think Frank wants it out there that he’s just firing people off of a successful show seemingly for no reason.”

Kirkman says Chic Eglee, whose previous credits include Dexter , Dark Angel and The Shield , chose to leave The Walking Dead after Darabont decided to stay on as the showrunner for the second season. “Chic Eglee is a high-level television writer. He was brought onto The Walking Dead with the idea that Frank was going to work on the first season and then go off and do movies,” says Kirkman. “Chic didn’t want to be second-in-command on a show when he’s used to being a top dog, and so he decided to go off and do something else, which is something that happens and is not a big deal.”

Kirkman says it's too soon to tell what other writers the duo will work with in season two. “It’s a little premature to be nailing down. I don’t know if it’s going to be a freelance situation or if we’re going to have writers in a writers’ room. That’s something that's being worked on now.” The show’s cable broadcaster AMC would only confirm that there will be some changes to the writing staff.

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.