The entire Walking Dead writing staff was fired by Frank Darabont, the showrunner. No, they were not acting like zombies on the job, Darabont apparently wants to try something new with next season. Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, didn't mention any planned staff firings in his latest round of promotions so what's going on?
Apparently, Frank Darabont wants to try a freelance writing model used by a BBC show called Torchwood. Torchwood has a showrunner but no writing staff. Writers are hired on a freelance basis. Interestingly, showrunners pen most of the episodes with the freelance writing model.
Darabont wrote two episodes and co-wrote or rewrote the last four episodes of The Walking Dead in season one. With that in mind, it wouldn't be an issue for him to start writing all the episodes for season two solo. It's a safe bet fresh writers will have a new take on storylines. Additionally, having a revolving door of writers is probably cheaper than a full time staff.
Unfortunately for Darabont, Torchwood has a successful history with its freelance writing model and he doesn't. Walking Dead is only in its first season. The Writers Guild of America may find it difficult to allow Darabont to use the BBC model.
What do you think about this new freelance writing model? It seems to be a good deal for the production budget but is it a good deal for the writers? Whatever happened to the saying "If it ain't broken, don't fix it?" Everyone who's a fan of The Walking Dead can agree, the show's been doing alright so why change it?
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