Darabont rids “The Walking Dead” writing staff, hiring freelancers next season?

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Alright horror scribes, have you written your spec episode of AMC’s hit “The Walking Dead” yet? If not, you better get on that shite! If so, here’s your chance…

Deadline is reporting showrunner Frank Darabont has decided to forgo the writing staff that worked on the 6-episode first season of “The Walking Dead.” This includes the departure of Darabont’s longtime wingman Charles Eglee, who also served as exec-producer on the first season. For season number two, Darabont will hire freelance writers on a script by script basis, a model that has seemingly worked in the U.K., namely with the series “Tourchwood.”

While writing staffs for TV can often be fluid, ridding a series of an entire writing staff altogether is definitely unusual. With a leap from 6 to the 13 episodes next season (expected next Fall), here’s to hoping Darabont again proves he knows what he’s doing. Then again, being so adroit at writing himself (he wrote the first two episodes of the series, and has co-written/re-written every since), I’m sure he does!

“The Walking Dead” finale airs this Sunday at 10:00 PM on AMC.