The Walking Dead has been renewed for a 9th season with the zombie apocalypse drama that is also getting its 4th showrunner.
The second half of the 8th season of The Walking Dead will start on 25 February in America and on Monday 26 February at 21:00 on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) as one of Fox Networks Group Africa's few remaining "Express from the US" titles on the channel.
The drama series produced by AMC Studios in America, shocked in its mid-season finale by revealing that Carl Grimes, played by Chandler Riggs, has been bitten by a zombie walker.
The Walking Dead previous announced that as one of last five remaining original characters, the character will be killed off in the upcoming first new episode while the character of Morgan played by Lennie James will be leaving at the end of the season to join the spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead seen on AMC Networks International's Sundance TV (DStv 108) when the two shows do a cross-over story later this year.
Scott M. Gimple who has been with the show since the second season hasn't been fired like the previous showrunners Frank Darabont and Glen Mazzara, but is out and being moved to a new position of chief content officer over both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.
The longtime The Walking Dead writer and co-executive producer Angela Kang, a writer on the show since 2011 and a co-executive producer since 2013, is taking over as showrunner and executive producer.
The Walking Dead has seen a ratings decline since the end of the 6th season and the latest changes behind-the-scenes are likely in an attempt to bring renew focus and storytelling to the series.
“We are proud to acknowledge Angela Kang’s significant contribution to the series and to set a clear path forward for a ninth season under her direction. Further, with gratitude and admiration, we also recognize Scott M. Gimple’s broad impact on, and leadership of, the content that fuels our The Walking Dead universe,” says AMC in a statement. “Together, we will dream bigger and more broadly than ever before.”
“The Walking Dead is a special show which started in an entirely different era of TV, and continues, in this new era, to confidently take chances to tell compelling stories that excite audiences and make them deeply connect with its characters, adapting Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic book,” says Scott M. Gimple.
“As the show closes in on its tenth year, I’m honoured to keep working with the talented, dedicated people behind and in front of the camera to make it all it can be, while expanding the world of The Walking Dead with new narratives like Fear the Walking Dead and a whole host of truly cool stories ahead. Angela is a big part of the heart and soul of The Walking Dead, and I’m thrilled to help facilitate her vision of the show’s next era.”
Angela Kang says “I am beyond thrilled to be stepping into this new role with The Walking Dead. Working on this series and having the opportunity to adapt Robert Kirkman’s amazing comic has been a fangirl dream come true for me.”
“I’m excited to continue working with Scott M. Gimple and the wonderfully supportive folks at AMC, and can’t wait to share the next chapter of the story with our fans".
