NEWS: Frank Darabont Was Fired From The Walking Dead

It came as a shock to all when Frank Darabont announced he was stepping-down from his position as Showrunner on AMC's The Walking Dead last month. But what's even more shocking is that it's since been revealed he did not go of his own accord and was in fact fired from the show.

Read on for the full, grisly details...

The Hollywood Reporter has a lengthy discussion of the entire affair (which may be long but is worth the time to read) but it appears that the dispute relates to the show's budget.

Stepping into AMC's corner for a moment, it's expensive to produce a TV show, especially one with the scope of The Walking Dead. AMC requested that Darabont produce more episodes (to thus generate more potential advertising space to generate more revenue) but at the same time cut the show's budget. They also offered a number of cost-cutting ''suggestions'' to help keep costs down, including filming half the episodes indoors and using audio effects to imply the presence of off-screen zombies, thus saving on costume and make-up expenses. 

AMC claim Darabont had also experienced difficulty working to the scheduling TV production demands and - when he turned in an ''unusable'' episode - they were left with no option but to release Darabont and replace him with the show's #2, Glen Mazzara.

It's no secret that Darabont had been very vocal in the past about the network's budget cuts but since his release he's refused to comment, stating - through his lawyers - that he has no interest in talking to the press.

Now it takes an even darker turn. According to a ''show insider'' AMC  informed the remaining cast that they are not to offer any comment on Darabont's departure and has been ''terrorizing'' them with the threat of dismissal should they do so. ''They're on a zombie show. They are all really easy to kill off,'' says the insider, rather ominously.

Although it could be very easy to paint AMC as the evil, money-grabbing corporation and Darabont and Co as the exploited artistes, it's worth noting that Darabont's departure comes on the tail of two other rather messy - and public - falling outs between the network and their creative heads. The creators of both Mad Men and Breaking Bad experienced a similar treatment...

Read the full Hollywood Reporter article here and then decide for yourself. But whatever happens we can at least take comfort in the fact that Season 2 of The Walking Dead is just a few short months away. Let's just hope there's a Season 3.